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11/24/2012 3:03:59 PM
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Is the Master Chief going insane? (Halo 4 Theory (SPOILERS)
As of now most of us have beaten 343's Halo 4, we've witnessed the activation of the Forerunner Composer and it's inhumane power. We've [i]'killed'[/i] the Didact and said farewell to Cortana. Ultimately, Halo 4 has turned another direction with story-telling; whether you agree it was good or not, Halo 4 has been embedded in multiple novels ([i]The Forerunner Saga[/i] and [i]The Kilo-Five Trilogy[/i], to say the least).
As Halo 4 begins, we see Dr. Halsey and a mysterious interrogator, which I assume is ONI. The discuss the SPARTAN-II program and it's original reason for creation; to end the civil war between the UNSC and the Insurrectionists. But they interrogator mentions something quite interesting, "Records show Spartans routinely exhibited mildly sociopathic tendencies, difficulty with socialization, furthermore..." (Halo 4; Prologue). [i]Sociopathic tendencies...[/i], wow, that is alot to say about the original SPARTAN-II operatives, but is that to much to say? No, not one bit, it only makes sense for SPARTANs to carry such a heavy weight.
But, what really is [i]sociopathic tendencies[/i]? Four letters, ASPD, or Antisocial personality disorder. ASPD is often characterized by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood." Now, this doesn't sound like the Chief, he doesn't violate others rights. But, then again, he is military personnel, trained to withstand such hardships as a SPARTAN-II. But, that is just one basic definition of ASPD, one other one, that I believe the Chief is have is the fourth definition. "The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or a manic episode" (DSM-IV-TR, fourth edition).
Now, schizophrenia is a heavy word, a heavy claim, but it all makes sense. Schizophrenia is often coupled with "auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking" and is also "characterized by a breakdown of thought processes and by poor emotional responsiveness" (Schizophrenia, Wikipedia). Now, we all know the Master Chief has poor emotional response, often saying little to nothing when Cortana begins to break down, such simple words he does say, "No", "That won't happen", or "I promise", are small ways of attempting to be emotional towards Cortana's condition. But, I believe the Chief experiences [i]" auditory hallucinations" and "bizarre delusions".[/i] I believe the Chief is going insane.
By Halo 4 the Master Chief is in his early 40s, and most UNSC personnel know this. Captain Del Rio mentions Chief "is a aging Spartan" and that he wasn't going to listen to him or Cortana about staying on the planet. Chief has been through alot, so it isn't hard to believe his mind is deteriorating. During Shutdown, Chief hears the Didact speaking to him, he tells Cortana to trace the signal, but she doesn't hear anything:
"The others scatter like embers over sand. And yet the Librarian's champion is unmoved."
John-117: "Cortana, where's this coming from?"
Cortana: "Where's what coming from?
Didact: "The mantle of responsibility for the galaxy shelters all, human. But only the Forerunners are its masters."
John-117: "The Didact's voice."
Cortana: "I'm not picking up anything, Chief."
John-117: "He's there. Keep trying."
That is just one example of what the Chief 'hears' during the remainder of the Halo 4 campaign, but by the level Midnight, the Master Chief is inside the Didact ship, the [i]Mantle's Approach[/i], all by himself, well, save for Cortana. No one knows what Chief saw or fought inside the Didact's ship, or inside the Composer. I also think Chief has 'sees' the Didact and the fight they 'have', I also believe he 'sees' Cortana holding the Didact long enough for the Chief to kill him. But, at the end of Halo 4, we hear the Didact's voice, most believe he survives.
I believe that Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is suffering from schizophrenia and ASPD, to say the least. I believe his fight with the Didact was a bizarre delusion and auditory hallucination. I believe the Chief is going insane. What do you think?
[Edited on 11.24.2012 7:09 AM PST]
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1 Reply[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Yakov Sidorov [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] the real Janaka [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] EZcompany2ndsqd I really Hope they don't do that to the Chief I wouldn't like making him insane. Just doesn't seem like the right way to end it and i really doubt they would do that.[/quote]This. What good would that do to the story, what could it possibly gain by turning him insane? What parts of the questions and thematics the story has buildt up so far--especially with Bear's two, soon three, books--could gain anything by having the Master Chief, the main character in the new trilogy, go mad? I know many of you don't care much for the MC as a somewhat silent protagonist with a low-key persona, but surely playing as a madman is a step too far, especially considering how contrived it must feel to have 100% control in-game and whatever madman shenanigans the plot demands in the cutscenes?[/quote] Yes, it would be quite odd to have 100 percent control of a madman. But, the story of a SPARTAN going insane is an interesting concept to say the least. [/quote] I highly doubt the UNSC is desperate enough to field a mentally unstable super soldier. They already have hundreds of the Spartan IVs
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2 RepliesIt's a nice theory, but I highly doubt it's what's happening. Simpler and more likely theory is that Spartan II's sociopathic traits are simply behavioural issues induced by their lack of peers, other than other Spartan IIs, who only regard each other as something other than friends or allies. And as for the Didact's voice - that would've just been a mental message that the Didact was broadcasting towards John, in order to hurt his morale.
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2 RepliesThe Chief isn't insane. The Librarian said he was a thousand lifetimes of planning. I don't think she'd risk the fate of the galaxy to a schizophrenic. Plus no ones ever seen him portray schizophrenic behaviors. Also dude the voice at the end of the game is the didact talking to the rest of the forerunners telling them they need to destroy the humans.
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I wouldn't say that, Master Chief is insane only that, because he has only ever known one way of life it turns him into a sort of robot. He has always shown little emotion, it has only been in the most recent game that you good see his human side. For example at the end he say's "She said that to me once". Which, show's that he is thinking about Cortana and implies some mourning maybe happening.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Darthbill99 I kind of attributed the Didact's voice as telepathy that Cortana lacked the equipment to pick up. I don't believe Master Chief is insane at all, the sociopathic tenancies are really just referring to the difficulty of Spartan's interacting with people and forming relationships, not madness. [/quote] My thoughts exactly.
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As far as i could tell, the whole point of the [i]"mildly sociopathic tendencies"[/i] was to highlight Chief's internal struggle regarding his purpose (Man vs. Machine) The fact he talks to himself during the epilogue cutscene ("she said that to me once..." etc.) indicates self-reflection and highlights his lonliness, seeing as how he really hasn't got anybody in the universe anymore. As far as John knows his Spartans are all MIA, Halsey is away, and Cortana is gone.* So yeah, i don't see deeper meaning in that statement about him being 'broken' than foreshadowing. *[i]I'm willing to bet that the Librarians ghost/essence/thing made a copy of Cortana and she will either be put into an artificial body (much like the prometheans) or be repaired and functional sans rampancy.[/i]
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I get the feeling that Osman was directing the Halsey interview in that cutscene. The questions were especially focused on making her feel a different kind of regret than the characters in the Traviss novels have attempted to make her feel - regret that when the fighting comes to an end, when humanity no longer needs the Spartans, that they will never be able to assimilate or lead normal lives. The questions were designed to psychologically punish and the one person I can see trying to do that (both as a punitive measure and as a way to try and get some answers) is Osman. Maybe by that time Parangosky has stepped down and Osman has assumed the position as the head of ONI? As for MC going insane...I think there are better explanations for his odd experiences than psychological disorders (that isn't to say he isn't extremely socially damaged - but he's most likely not "insane").
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] WeakVariable004 geez... keep on this path and you might end up with chronic indoctrination theory sickness. its possible that as a forerunner he has some sore of telepathic ability seeing as he appears to have telekinesis. while sociopathic tendencies are likely it his difficulty talking to cortana, he never learned how to socialize and he grew up with military training and several horrific experiences. some of this could be from the librarians enhancement. also he has had some form of schizophrenia in halo 3 he is constantly hearing and seeing cortana though she is on high charity and she is using Dr Halsey words [/quote]the cortana moments weren't hallucinations. I don't know what they really were, but I'm pretty sure they were real. Like, she was somehow communicating with his neural interface from across the galaxy or something. Edit: and there were so many other things wrong with that post that I really don't even want to get into it with you. [Edited on 11.28.2012 8:56 PM PST]
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geez... keep on this path and you might end up with chronic indoctrination theory sickness. its possible that as a forerunner he has some sore of telepathic ability seeing as he appears to have telekinesis. while sociopathic tendencies are likely it his difficulty talking to cortana, he never learned how to socialize and he grew up with military training and several horrific experiences. some of this could be from the librarians enhancement. also he has had some form of schizophrenia in halo 3 he is constantly hearing and seeing cortana though she is on high charity and she is using Dr Halsey words
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] ExcellentSix I highly doubt the UNSC is desperate enough to field a mentally unstable super soldier. They already have hundreds of the Spartan IVs[/quote] Hundreds? I thought they had 3,000. Maybe I misread the numbers. Anyways, yeah, its highly unlikely for it to happen, and if it'd copy Dead Space, we don't want that.
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If the Chief's fight was a delusion, then the Didact would not have been stopped, and he would have destroyed the Earth and composed all humanity. It's an interesting theory, though.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Darthbill99 I kind of attributed the Didact's voice as telepathy that Cortana lacked the equipment to pick up. I don't believe Master Chief is insane at all, the sociopathic tenancies are really just referring to the difficulty of Spartan's interacting with people and forming relationships, not madness. [/quote]
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Yakov Sidorov [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] the real Janaka [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] EZcompany2ndsqd I really Hope they don't do that to the Chief I wouldn't like making him insane. Just doesn't seem like the right way to end it and i really doubt they would do that.[/quote]This. What good would that do to the story, what could it possibly gain by turning him insane? What parts of the questions and thematics the story has buildt up so far--especially with Bear's two, soon three, books--could gain anything by having the Master Chief, the main character in the new trilogy, go mad? I know many of you don't care much for the MC as a somewhat silent protagonist with a low-key persona, but surely playing as a madman is a step too far, especially considering how contrived it must feel to have 100% control in-game and whatever madman shenanigans the plot demands in the cutscenes?[/quote] Yes, it would be quite odd to have 100 percent control of a madman. But, the story of a SPARTAN going insane is an interesting concept to say the least. [/quote]The concept of a SPARTAN going mad is indeed interesting, but not the chief. He is and will always be a rock. He can be softened, but never broken, that is just who he is, and changing his fundamental character that drastically would just feel wrong.
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I think the Master Chief going insane would be too similar to Cortanas rampancy. It's too repetitive an idea. Spartans are all subject to a lot of emotional trauma, but that doesn't mean insanity. Didn't a lot of Noble Team's Spartans have psychological issues? [quote]S-266 had "an unhealthy emotional detachment in regards to the consequences of his actions"[/quote] Also it would be directly compared to Dead Spaces' Isaac as a rip off.
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I like how far you went into explaining your theory. However, storytelling wise it is horrible, and would make absolutely no sense.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] the real Janaka [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] EZcompany2ndsqd I really Hope they don't do that to the Chief I wouldn't like making him insane. Just doesn't seem like the right way to end it and i really doubt they would do that.[/quote]This. What good would that do to the story, what could it possibly gain by turning him insane? What parts of the questions and thematics the story has buildt up so far--especially with Bear's two, soon three, books--could gain anything by having the Master Chief, the main character in the new trilogy, go mad? I know many of you don't care much for the MC as a somewhat silent protagonist with a low-key persona, but surely playing as a madman is a step too far, especially considering how contrived it must feel to have 100% control in-game and whatever madman shenanigans the plot demands in the cutscenes?[/quote] Yes, it would be quite odd to have 100 percent control of a madman. But, the story of a SPARTAN going insane is an interesting concept to say the least.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] EZcompany2ndsqd I really Hope they don't do that to the Chief I wouldn't like making him insane. Just doesn't seem like the right way to end it and i really doubt they would do that.[/quote]This. What good would that do to the story, what could it possibly gain by turning him insane? What parts of the questions and thematics the story has buildt up so far--especially with Bear's two, soon three, books--could gain anything by having the Master Chief, the main character in the new trilogy, go mad? I know many of you don't care much for the MC as a somewhat silent protagonist with a low-key persona, but surely playing as a madman is a step too far, especially considering how contrived it must feel to have 100% control in-game and whatever madman shenanigans the plot demands in the cutscenes? [Edited on 11.26.2012 2:00 PM PST]
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I really Hope they don't do that to the Chief I wouldn't like making him insane. Just doesn't seem like the right way to end it and i really doubt they would do that.
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Shutdown, Chief hears the Didact speaking to him, he tells Cortana to trace the signal, but she doesn't hear anything: "The others scatter like embers over sand. And yet the Librarian's champion is unmoved." John-117: "Cortana, where's this coming from?" Cortana: "Where's what coming from? Didact: "The mantle of responsibility for the galaxy shelters all, human. But only the Forerunners are its masters." John-117: "The Didact's voice." Cortana: "I'm not picking up anything, Chief." John-117: "He's there. Keep trying." The only reason Chief can hear that is because the Librarian altered DNA. Therefore he is more advanced. The Didact was talking to the prometheans.
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Maybe HE too might think himself to death as well (well, not necessarily). This is a bizarre yet brilliant theory pulled together. However, I am irked by how the way it ended on Legendary, though.......
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] ajw34307 I see no evidence of this. It's Halsey who starts fabricating history, and the Interrogator who points that out citing the real reason the Spartan-IIs were made.[/quote] The Insurrectionists were just as much of a threat to the human race as the Covenant ever were. The intention of the Spartan II Program was always to save the human race from the start. Doesn't matter if it's Covenant or human Insurrectionists, the end result of both running unchecked would be the same thing, massive amounts of the human populations left dead in their wake and the survivors being thrust into another set of Dark Ages. Doesn't matter if he's correct in stating that the Insurrectionists were what the Spartans were originally created to combat, his dismal of the Insurrection as a non-threat and nothing at all of consequence makes him a fool and everything else I said. In addition, it's still true, even Halsey is just talking about the Covenant and how effective the Spartans were in fighting it. That they saved the human race is still true, and that without them humanity would either be defeated and near extinct or have suffered far more heavily in winning the war. [quote]He doesn't say they're completely sociopathic, he says they developed "mildly sociopathic tendencies" which led to "difficulty with socialisation". We know this is true, and it's particularly highlighted in Ghosts of Onyx where Kurt is identified as a 'one of a kind' Spartan who does socialise with others. That said, the word 'sociopath' does seem a bit extreme, but he dumbs it down with "mild" and "tendencies".[/quote] That is still a sociopath. Which is not true at all. Being anti-social or having a harder time fitting in with others (which I would have to say is for the most part bollocks as well) does not make one a sociopath, a psychopath or anything like that. As I said, the guy is someone with an agenda, whoever Mr. Mystery Man is wants to discredit the Spartans and specifically Chief, excuse me if I take his bologna claims with a whole a mountain of salt and dismiss them as illogical bias.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] trekkie Why can't chief go rampant? He's certainly had enough abuse. On a side not, hopefully not too redundant, is [b]Halo 4 officially canon?[/b] [/quote] ....um....ah...uh...sorry to break this to you, but yes.
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Why can't chief go rampant? He's certainly had enough abuse. On a side not, hopefully not too redundant, is Halo 4 officially canon?
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Old Papa Rich Either way, I don't believe we have seen the last of Cortana. My theory is that her story in Halo 4, 5, and 6 will play out like Spock's in Star Trek 2, 3, and 4.[/quote] I agree. Been sayin' this since I beat the campaign.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Yakov Sidorov [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] spartanz_8 Not to sound like a douche (is that how you spell it) but it sounds like you haven't been around too many Schizophrenics. I can assure you that Master Chief doesn't have Schizophrenia. Furthermore, mental disorders aren't confined to Wikipedia definitions, so that can both support or invalidate your claims. [/quote] You're right, I haven't been around too many schizophrenics, and that Wikipedia is never a source to use. But, this was a quick theory I put together within a couple hours, and I did little research outside basic internet sites. But, what is this "indoctrination" stuff people keep mentioning??? [/quote] Mass Effect 3 reference
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] spartanz_8 Not to sound like a douche (is that how you spell it) but it sounds like you haven't been around too many Schizophrenics. I can assure you that Master Chief doesn't have Schizophrenia. Furthermore, mental disorders aren't confined to Wikipedia definitions, so that can both support or invalidate your claims. [/quote] You're right, I haven't been around too many schizophrenics, and that Wikipedia is never a source to use. But, this was a quick theory I put together within a couple hours, and I did little research outside basic internet sites. But, what is this "indoctrination" stuff people keep mentioning???
