[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] ROBERTO jh He saw the Brutes as easier to control; even if he did start planning this 20 years ago that doesn't change the fact that he did it out of paranoia. He figured the Elites were smart enough to figure it out. You're right he was more concerned about his own power by the end, but that just reaffirms his paranoia. He became mad with power towards the end, paranoid the Elites would revolt. How does 343i's version contradict anything?[/quote] It seems that you do not know what paranoia is. Paranoia is a delusional state of mind in which you, without rational cause, believe that people are out to harm you. Truth was not paranoid about the Elites because not only was he correct about them, but all indications pointed towards him having analysed the situation carefully and rationally. Saying that Truth was paranoid calls into question which his actions and decisions were necessary, which of course changes the entire nature of the Elites and the Covenant, doesn't it? Now it becomes a question of what was true, and before you know it those questions are answered with a sly "None of them". Perfect way to retcon. (E.g. Traviss' Elites) The decision was made in his mind during the Cole Protocol, when Zhar woke him to his senses about the Sangheili threat. Perhaps it was made even before then when it was he himself who admitted to Regret right after that incident that the Elite's faith and trust in the Prophets and the Covenant was decaying, and that only some still appeared to be absolutely zealous. Regret also shared the exact same concerns as Truth did as well. If Truth was paranoid and had nothing substantial or convincing to back up his claims then why was he not overthrown in the years when he was plotting this, or when he gave the order? Why did Regret and Mercy do nothing whilst this madman plotted and then carried out the destruction of the Covenant? Why did all of the other Prophet councillors do nothing whilst this was being planned, and whilst this was being carried out? The answer is because they were along with it. Not all I would imagine, but certainly the vast majority would be sympathizers to Truth's arguments. Those who disagreed and felt that the Elites should be given a chance probably had some rather unfortunate accidents I would imagine. However, are you going to tell me that almost the entire Prophet side of the Covenant leadership is also suffering from the exact same delusion and inability to perceive reality objectively? Brushing off Truth as a madman is such a lazy excuse to explain the Schism. It completely falls flat to the fact that he has a rather large and influential group of peers to answer to who probably wouldn't hesitate to back-stab him and take his place if they got the slightest bit of dirt on him. Whilst Truth is certainly powerful, he would be helpless if the whole council discovered his insanity and blew his schemes wide open to the masses, or at the moment where he declared the Elites unworthy and to be exterminated, grouped together, decried his authority and attempted to bring the Elites and Brutes back together again. Being concerned with the acquisition of power has nothing to do with being paranoid either. That's such a tenuous link at best. There are plenty or reasons why someone would pursue power. The Heretic faction in Halo 2 was regarded as a serious threat and the council accepted the creation of an Arbiter to deal with them. (You know, the thing that is usually created and justified in response to times of great need) Only one month after they formed and already the Heirarchs regard them as that serious of a threat. All Sesa 'Refumee did, as far as we can tell, was talk and let people know that disbelievers exist and that they are organized. The Heirarch's rather extreme reaction to this was revealing about just how degraded the Elite's faith in them really was and that Sesa was accelerating that degradation in Covenant society before Truth was ready. I should have linked this at first, but I forgot. This basically tells you what happens if you weren't aware prior. Truth's decision to remove the Elites was in response to their heresy and faltering faith and wasn't a spontaneous decision. It doesn't say anything about a species that Truth perceived to be heretical, it says they were heretical. [quote][url=http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&cid=16989]But why Brutes? In the wake of Regret's shameful retreat from New Mombasa, the Prophet of Truth continued his maneuvering - one eye always on his ultimate goal: his rightful and holy ascension. For Truth, his own personal passage was paramount. His Godhood would not be denied. Everything else was secondary. And though Truth's duplicitous scheming doesn't come to full fruition until the Elite Honor Guard's failure to protect the Prophet of Regret affords him with the final leverage needed to appoint the Brutes to the lofty position, his plans were never made in haste. They were well laid. When the time came to return his attention to Earth, his expendable regiments needed to be led by Jiralhanae, not Sangheili. Leaving the Elites to scour Earth in search of a Holy Forerunner relic, and ultimately to uncover the most precious and sacrosanct Forerunner artifact in existence - the very portal that opened upon the Ark itself - would have placed all Truth's aspirations upon the shoulders of a species he had already decided to cast aside, [u]a species splintered by heresy and derision, even amongst their own ranks[/u]. Truth's divisive mandate had been set in motion. The Elites had exhausted their usefulness to him, they would not be allowed to meddle in his affairs any longer, and he would not place his rightful transcendence into the hands of incompetents. His word was law. So the Prophet of Truth deploys Brutes. And the Brutes were eager to prove that their loyalty and battle prowess had earned them a seat at the side of the Hierarchs, as the honored protectors of the sacred Covenant. Such blind faith and eagerness marked them as near perfect pawns for Truth to sacrifice.[/url][/quote] [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] ROBERTO jh You certainly can't help but slide in that jab towards 343i can you?[/quote] I was pointing out a truth about the fiction. If you feel that such a thing is a jab then you are just going to have to deal with it somehow.