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6/1/2009 4:40:41 AM
100
Mendicant Bias and the Great Intragalactic Scavenger Hunt
Ah, it has been a long while since I've wrote something this long. Or crazy. Or improbable. Have fun :-)
A large portion of The Fall of Reach is devoted to the Covenant attack on Sigma Octanus IV. The purpose of the attack was to recover the information stored on rock in the Sigma Octanus museum of natural history. There was some speculation about the attack on Sigma Octanus and the artifact that was discovered there a few years ago, but I think that it is worth revisiting in light of certain information from Halo 3.
Cortana provides some information about the artifact. Most interestingly, it came from offworld, and arrived ~60,000 years before 2552.
[quote] Forty years ago a geological survey team on Sigma Octanus Four found several with similar--though not identical--anomalous compositions. UNSC geologists believe these samples were introduced onto the planet via meteorite impacts--they typically are found in long eroded impact craters on the planets surface. Isotopic dating of the site place those impacts craters at present minus sixty thousand years [/quote]
[quote] I have also, um...coordinated with UNSC's astrophysics department and discovered some interesting bits archived in their long-range observation databases. There is a black hole located approximately forty thousand light years from the Sigma Octanus System. An extremely powerful pulse-laser transmission back-scattered the matter in the accretion disc-essentially trapped this signal as this matter accelerated toward the speed of light. From our perspective, according to special relativity, this essentially froze the residue of this information in the event horizon."
"I'll take your word for it," Dr. Halsey said.
"This 'frozen signal' contains information that matches the sample from Sigma Octanus Four." Cortana sighed and her shoulders slumped. "Unfortunately, all my attempts at translating the code have failed...so far." [/quote]
At the end of The Fall of Reach, we discover what the information on the Sigma Octanus IV artifact was. It was star chart, and it points to Alpha Halo. Later on, in First Strike, Dr. Halsey discovers that Colonel Ackerson has been interested in the Sigma Octanus IV artifact, and that he too had discovered it was a star map. According to Colonel Ackerson's notes, it pointed Reach. When Eric Nylund was asked if there were multiple coordinates on it, his reply was:
[quote] "YES. It's an interesting little chunk of stone" [/quote]
The Sigma Octanus IV artifact is clearly a map to important Forerunner objects. I'm going to say that the Sigma Octanus IV artifact started its journey to Sigma Octanus from somewhere near the black hole, 100,000(60,000+40,000) years ago. It flew away from the black hole at near lightspeed, traveling 40,000 years before crashing into Sigma Octanus IV 60,000 years ago. So what happened 100,000 years ago?
[url=http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Forerunner-Flood_War]Oh, yes, there is that,[/url] but I was thinking of something a bit more specific. Take a look at the penultimate Terminal, telling to the story of the final battle in the Forerunner-Flood war, the fight between Mendicant Bias and Offensive Bias.
[quote] [12:H 20:M 00:S]
I begin this report with no illusions that it will ever be seen by its intended readers. In all likelihood they have already committed [species-wide suicide] with the goal of preserving biological diversity in this galaxy. I must ensure that this information reaches those who must come after. If I fail in this, how can they not regard my creators' sacrifice as anything by [a crime without measure]?
[12:H 19:M 59:S]
Contender AI 05-032 Mendicant Bias is returning and has the capacity to bring the enemy through the [Maginot] sphere. The crews of my task force are aware of the opposing fleet's size; All data indicated that they have prepared themselves - but with biologicals anything is possible. I will make sure that [malfunctioning equipment] does no further damage. Perhaps its current failure will finally allow it to succeed at the task it was originally created for.
[11:H 15:M 48:S]
Mendicant has burrowed through the sphere exactly where I expected - a direct path from initial rampancy to final retribution. Rage has made it predictable. If the fate of the crew of my auxiliary fleet were not already a forgone conclusion I would rate their chance of survival at [1:1,960,000].
Even though 05-032's declaration of hostilities simplified strategic preparations; I do not expect an easy fight - just one I cannot lose.
[11:H 12:M 09:S]
05-032 was right about one thing: there is only one way to defeat the enemy, and that is to visit utter annihilations on it.
If the galaxy must be [rendered temporarily life-less], so be it.
As Mendicant stated in its report [50,078:H 48:M 12:S ago]: half measures will not suffice.
[09:H 45:M 18:S]
In support of 05-032's original 1000 core vessels is a fleet numbering 4,802,019; though only 1.8 percent are warships - and only 2.4 percent of that number are capital ships - I am outnumbered [436.6:1]. I expect my losses will be near total, but overwhelming force has its own peculiar drawbacks.
Such a press of arms invites many opportunities for unintentional fratricide.
[07:H 36:M 41:S]
My auxiliaries are momentarily stunned by Mendicant's opening move - 1,784,305 leisure craft ranging from [45 ~ 5769 tonnes] advance in hopes of overwhelming my comparatively tiny force. I do not have enough [weapon systems] to target them all.
It is a mathematical certainty that some of them will get through and attempt to board. There isn't a single warship with this first wave. It seems my opponent's rage has left no room for respect.
[04:H 01:M 55:S]
I could have countered its move if I had released my fighters. They are ready but idle; making their base vessels more attractive prizes than targets. Now the first of many waves of commercial vessels mixed with single ships and assault craft surge forward. The first ship from my fleet to be boarded break formation and races into the oncoming vessels - striking one amidships. The cargo vessel's hull splits open and out of it explodes not the expected consumer goods but 31,850 dying warriors.
[00:H 19:M 02:S]
The seventh and final wave of container ships, barges, tankers, and military vessels engage my fleet; another 214,320 ships, many in excess of [50,000 tonnes], engage my seemingly disrupted vanguard. I continue to fight just well enough to seem lucky. Mendicant, or the enemy, has been sending a small percentage of its fleet elsewhere. Good. Let them believe they can seize a foothold somewhere inside the sphere.
[00:H 00:M 11:S]
Despite all its faults, 05-032 has fought remarkably well.
My auxiliaries lay in tatters - more that half of them are now part of the enemy fleet. But just as I had predicted, 05-032 concentrated on them like they were the sole key to victory. Its desire to punish our creators blinded it to the true purpose of my [feints]. I have reduced the combat effectiveness of its core fleet to 79.96 percent. Surely now it must realize that something is amiss.
[00:H 00:M 00:S]
The [Halo effect] strikes our combined fleets. All ships piloted by biologicals are now [adrift].
I can trade Mendicant ship for ship now and still prevail.
[00:H 00:M 01:S]
Of my ships that had been captured, 11.3 percent of them are close enough to Mendicant's core fleet that they can be used offensively - either by initiating their self-destruct sequences, or by opening unrestricted ruptures into [slipstream space].
It is best that our crews perished now; because the battle that is about to ensue would have driven them mad.
[00:H 00:M 02:S]
I throw away all the rules of acceptable conduct during battle; near the ruptures I throw away all the accepted ideas of how the natural world is supposed to behave. I toss around [37,654 tonne] dreadnoughts like they were fighters; dimly aware of the former crews being crushed to liquescence.
For now all my concentration is focused on inertial control and navigation. Targeting isn't even a consideration - I will be engaging my enemy at arm's length.
[00:H 01:M 14:S]
05-032 abandoned the tactic of using derelict ships as cover after [72:S] - It seems that 52 core vessels lost to the ruptured fuel cells of derelict ships was lesson enough. Add another 508 lost to collision, point fire, structural failure due to inertial manipulation, and [slipstream space] induced discoherence and I now outnumber Mendicant [6:1].
[00:H 03:M 00:S]
Mendicant was able to postpone its inevitable annihilation for [106:S] with its attempt to flee. But the last of its core vessels hangs before me now; crippled and defeated but still sensate. I could spare it; carve out what is left of its [personality construct array] and deliver it to [Installation Zero] for study.
I doubt it would have extended the same courtesy to me.
[/quote]
I believe that the key to understanding to the mystery of the Sigma Octanus IV artifact lies in the battle between Mendicant Bias and Offensive. Seven hours into the battle, less than thirty minutes before the Halo Array is activated, Offensive Bias notes that Mendicant Bias has been sending a small percentage of his fleet elsewhere, presumably to establish a foothold somewhere else inside the [maginot] sphere. I believe that by sending part of the fleet away, Mendicant Bias was enacting a fail safe, so that if he lost, he would not be destroyed.
[Edited on 05.31.2009 8:42 PM PDT]
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Mendicant Bias was not just sending ships away. He was sending part of [b]himself[/b] away. Mendicant Bias was Rampant, but perhaps, that far into the battle, Mendicant Bias had realized that he may not win the battle, so he planned for survival. Mendicant Bias was a distributed network, he resided in more than one ship in his core fleet. So Mendicant Bias sent part of himself away, knowing that if the core of him was ever defeated, a small part would remain. As can be read above, Offensive Bias prevailed. He destroys Mendicant's fleet, leaving one crippled ship. He considers cutting out Mendicant Bias and delivering him to Ark for study. As far as we know, this is what happens. An earlier terminal mentions that a personality construct array from Mendicant Bias was being contained on the Ark, so it seems that OB does go through with it. Yet it seems that Mendicant Bias is also free of the Ark, residing on the Forerunner Dreadnought from High Charity, only to later open the portal on Earth, travel to the Ark, and free himself from containment and then start re-constituting himself. Part of Mendicant Bias ended up on the Ark. Part of him ended up trapped on High Charity in the Dreadnought. Was the more? Was Mendicant Bias divided into more than two(surviving) pieces? I think the answer in yes. One of the plot threads in First Strike involves a Forerunner artifact buried under Reach. The Covenant knows it is there, and it appears that it was the real reason that they came to Reach. The artifact is small forerunner crystal, and it had several unusual properties that allowed the Spartans to escape Reach. On their way back to Earth, the crystal is destroyed to prevent ONI/The Covenant from getting their hands on it. However, several large pieces of the crystal manage to escape the explosion and squeeze themselves into space. The remains of the crystal are recovered by The Covenant, and brought to the Prophet of Truth. The Prophet of Truth receives the shards of crystal, comments that it may be enough for their purposes, and orders those involved in the recovery operation to be quickly executed. It seems as though Truth has a plan for the remains of the Crystal, and he wants to keep it quiet. Despite this, we never hear of the crystal again. So, what was the point of all that effort? Just an ultimately meaningless MacGuffin? A forgotten plot thread? Well, maybe. But that would be boring. We know that Human AIs are stored on some sort of crystal, it wouldn't be too big of stretch to imagine that Forerunner AIs also used crystals. I believe that Reach Crystal was another piece of Mendicant Bias, and that Truth was collecting it for him. Sure, the Crystal was blown up, be even then it managed to move part of itself to safety. I'd suggest that it would try to save the most important parts. It may still contain useful information. So how and why would Truth be working with Mendicant Bias? One possibility is that he doesn't know what exactly he is doing. In Contact Harvest the three (future)hierarchs visit Mendicant Bias aboard the Dreadnought. He tells them that their entire religion is wrong, and tries to take off in Dreadnought, wanting to bring the Reclaimers to the Ark. He is stopped, but during this time he emits a surge of data: [quote] Some of the Lekgolo had survived the Dreadnoughts aborted liftoff, and these had managed to interpret amazing data from the Oracles lunatic surge. The Machine claimed that Halo-the mythical means of the Forerunner's divination-was real. And more important, the Oracle seemed to have some knowledge of the rings? Location--or at least an idea where to look for the relics that would help narrow the Covenant's search. [/quote] It's possible that Mendicant Bias knew exactly what he was doing, and is manipulating the Covenant into searching for pieces of himself without them knowing what they are doing. The other possibility is that Truth was knowingly helping Mendicant Bias. After Mendicant's failed attempt to leave in the Dreadnought, he disconnected from the Dreadnought and isolated inside his own vault. I wouldn't be surprised if Truth was visiting Mendicant Bias and trying to get more information about the Forerunners and Halo. Mendicant Bias, knowing his situation, realized that he could use Truth, and managed to persuade Truth to look for the Forerunner artifacts containing the remaining pieces of himself. Reach was one location on the Sigma Octanus IV artifact, but what about the other? Was their also a piece of Mendicant Bias on Alpha Halo? You probably won't be surprised to here that my answer is yes. I believe that part of Mendicant Bias took up residence in the control room of Alpha Halo. He hid himself while, and waited. Waited 100,000 thousand years, until Cortana was uploaded to Halo's control center. We know that during her time in the control room of Halo 04, Cortana absorbed a huge amount of information from Halo. We also know that this caused behavioral changes in Cortana. What if these changes were more than just an accelerated slide toward rampancy from the volume of data? What if there was an AI hiding among of that information? I believe that Mendicant Bias was in their, and was transferred into Cortana. He managed to hide himself in Cortana, even going so far as to integrate parts of himself into her code. When Cortana left the control room, Mendicant went with her. During First Strike, Cortana encounters something never seen before, a Covenant AI. After killing it and examining its code, Cortana finds that it appears to have been copied multiple times, and that parts of its code are almost an exact match for her own. Later on, Cortana makes a copy of herself. This copy encounters another Covenant AI, who manages to overwhelm and defeat the Cortana copy. In Halo 2, Cortana encounters what she believes to be another Covenant AI, this time on the Forerunner Dreadnought: [quote] I'll do what I can to slow the launch sequence. But there's something inside the ship, a presence that's fighting back. For a Covenant construct it's unusually formidable. [/quote] I don't believe that any of those AIs were really Covenant AIs. What Cortana believes to be a "unusually formidable" Covenant AI on the Forerunner Dreadnought is really Mendicant Bias. Similarly, I believe that the other so called Covenant AIs are really copies of Mendicant Bias, damaged and twisted by the copying process(and perhaps just a bit of instability from that rampancy thing and then sitting around for 100,000 years). As for how these copies came about, I'm not sure. Perhaps the covenant used Mendicant Bias as a base to try to create their own AIs. It works, but he copying produces errors. Or perhaps Mendicant Bias sent them himself for some reason, and they started to rampantly spread throughout the Covenant network. The First Covenant AI that Cortana encountered was created after many successive generations of copying, and Cortana was able to defeat it, although not without some effort. The parts of its code that she recognizes as her own are not truly her own, but the piece of Mendicant Bias from Alpha Halo which had deeply integrated itself into her coding. I believe the second AI was able to overwhelm her because it was less damaged by constant copying. The third AI, onboard the Forerunner ship, was the original. It was able to fight her attempts to delay the launch. Perhaps it even reconsidered her as being made from a Human and didn't destroy her. While she was busy fighting it, I consider it likely Alpha Halo Mendicant Bias jumped out of her and stayed on the Forerunner ship. At this point, Truth had probably given Mendicant the shards of the crystal as well, along with any other pieces that were found during the Covenant's search. A far more complete Mendicant Bias takes off from High Charity, heading to Earth, and then the Ark. So going back to the beginning, here's how I think things could have occurred 100,000 years ago: Terminal Two reveals that Mendicant Bias's Fleet has the capacity to force premature stellar collapse. Stellar Collapse can result in the formation of a Black Hole. I believe that the Black Hole 40,000 Light Years from Sigma Octanus, which trapped the pulse laser transmission, was created during the battle between Mendicant Bias and Offensive Bias. Mendicant Bias begins that attack on Offensive Bias. Hours into the battle, he begins sending a small portion of his fleet, and himself, away. Communicating via laser, Mendicant signals the ships where to go. One of the two fleets uses their stellar collapse weapons to destroy a star, and the transmission gets caught in resulting black hole(but some if it gets to the ships. Perhaps Mendicant sends it again.) Around the same time, one of Mendicants ships gets destroyed in the battle. Its navigation database, which was marking the locations that it was sending pieces of itself to, is thrown into space at near lightspeed, travelling for 40,000 years before hitting Sigma Octanus IV. The remaining pieces of Mendicant Bias are scattered throughout the galaxy, with the hope that some time in the future, they can be reconstructed. 100,000 years after the battle, a piece of Mendicant Bias aboard a Forerunner dreadnought is reawakened by the Covenant. Then begins a 20 year long search for the other pieces of Mendicant Bias, which concludes in late 2552/early 2553 with Mendicant Bias being reassembled at the Ark. So what do you think? Yes, I admit that parts are a bit implausible, but I do think there are some ideas in there that could lead to some interesting speculation. So now I turn things over to you guys. Interested in seeing what you come up with.
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[i]This space is reserved for future edits. I didn't leave myself a lot of room, so this is just for safety[/i] Feel free to reply now. [Edited on 05.31.2009 8:42 PM PDT]
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Well written you have left me with much to think about. Thanks for the new theory that is extremely well thought out.
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That's incredibly interesting, and I like your idea. Well done.
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#<:3~ [Edited on 06.10.2009 7:17 AM PDT]
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I think the possibility of MB reconstructing himself is an excellent theory and a great plot for another story arc.
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I agree, maybe a recreation of the first battle could be a downloadable halo wars map in conjunction
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Very interesting. If this is indeed true, it would mean that the Covenant's xenocidal campaign against Humanity is due in large part to Medican Bias' desire to reconstruct himself. This makes me wonder at what point MB becomes remorseful for his collaboration with the Gravemind 100,000 years ago. Surely such a intelligent construct, rampant or not, would realize the inevitable blood-lust of the Prophets. Would it not have been just as easy to convince Truth that humans were somehow vital to the Journey and should not be slaughtered without mercy? Just a thought.
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Amazing theory, opog. Once again, you've out-classed me with the greatest style. I applaud you... this is truly something for everyone to consider.
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Excellent theory, I see numerous points. Too many to count :P Very nice indeed.
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Sounds like a good idea. Explains the existence of the crystal, though not why it had special powers to bend space.
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Here's what I think is possible: One of the pieces of Mendicant Bias ended up on Earth. This was eventually discovered and researched. The first Smart AI was developed in the mid 21st century and Cortana in the 26th. I postulate that the research on the piece of Mendicant Bias led either to the first Smart AI (and therefore is linked to all that build off of this AI) or to Cortana, being the first developed in an unusual manner (mapping of neural pathways of a living brain). Either way, the core source code of Mendicant Bias would be an integral part of Cortana's own code. It's most likely the case that the Covenant AI onboard the Ascendant Justice is merely a poor copy or back-engineering of Mendicant Bias. That would mean that the Covenant AI also shared core portions of Mendicant Bias' source code. When Cortana was stripping it down line by line, she noted that its source code seemed oddly familiar, as if it were her own. I think that this is case because both share a common code ancestor: Mendicant Bias.
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I swear I remember reading somewhere that Offensive Bias [i]did[/i] fragment Mendicant Bias, and scattered his "pieces: throughout the galaxy, leaving his personality to the Ark for study. Kind of how back in the Middle Ages, people would dismember their enemies and then send their limbs to the corners of the known world. (Or something to that affect.) Either way, Mendicant Bias was scattered in some way. I like where you're going with this; in [i]Contact Harvest[/i], Mendicant pretty much calls the Prophets and Covenant as a whole a bunch of idiots. ("I have sat for eons and listened to you misinterpret!") After he was made aware that there were Reclaimers left, he devised a plan to use the Covenant to reassemble himself, and them make amends for his treason by bringing the Reclaimers safely to the Ark. Yeah, I like it. EDIT: Oh, and as for the Cortana part, I don't recall that part of the book(s), but if you're not blowing smoke up our asses, 100% plausible. [Edited on 06.01.2009 9:06 PM PDT]
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Good theory, but I'm not sure if Mendicant Bias would have allowed something besides the reclaimers to get forerunner artifacts. Like at Onyx, the machines were very hostile to anything besides things which declared themselves as reclaimers. Also I don't think the AI on the ship with cortana was part of MB because there were also multiple covenant AI on the Unyielding Hierophant. So it seems like the covenant do have the ability to copy AIs but they jsut arent very good. Where they copied it? Idk But a great job at bringing up points about the star maps AND MB sending off some ships to do something else. Did you find that battle in the terminals?
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] SpoonGuard Would it not have been just as easy to convince Truth that humans were somehow vital to the Journey and should not be slaughtered without mercy? Just a thought.[/quote] That really depends on Truth. It's possible that he was so set in his ways that Mendicant Bias would have a much easier time convincing Truth to find Forerunner artifacts than to not slaughter humans. It's quite possible he tried, or even that he planned to help humans once he was free, but his action may have been limited. [quote] Sounds like a good idea. Explains the existence of the crystal, though not why it had special powers to bend space. [/quote] Yeah, that still bugs me. Doesn't make much sense, unless it's some weird part of Forerunner AI cores. Maybe unique to MB? He was unlike anything else they had built. Even that answer bothers me though. In fact, the entire space-time bending properties always have raised questions that I don't have good answers for. Maybe it's not even Forerunner at all... [quote] Here's what I think is possible: One of the pieces of Mendicant Bias ended up on Earth. This was eventually discovered and researched. The first Smart AI was developed in the mid 21st century and Cortana in the 26th. I postulate that the research on the piece of Mendicant Bias led either to the first Smart AI (and therefore is linked to all that build off of this AI) or to Cortana, being the first developed in an unusual manner (mapping of neural pathways of a living brain). Either way, the core source code of Mendicant Bias would be an integral part of Cortana's own code. It's most likely the case that the Covenant AI onboard the Ascendant Justice is merely a poor copy or back-engineering of Mendicant Bias. That would mean that the Covenant AI also shared core portions of Mendicant Bias' source code. When Cortana was stripping it down line by line, she noted that its source code seemed oddly familiar, as if it were her own. I think that this is case because both share a common code ancestor: Mendicant Bias. [/quote] I find that to be a very intriguing idea that I hadn't considered at all. The Covenant AI and Cortana sharing a common ancestor. It also raises questions about what happened to the human shard of Mendicant Bias. Tucked away in some ONI installation on Earth? Could be something the Covenant are looking for. [quote] I swear I remember reading somewhere that Offensive Bias did fragment Mendicant Bias, and scattered his "pieces: throughout the galaxy, leaving his personality to the Ark for study. Kind of how back in the Middle Ages, people would dismember their enemies and then send their limbs to the corners of the known world. (Or something to that affect.) [/quote] Halopedia? They claim that Mendicant devived the personality construct on that one ship into pieces, spread them across different ships, but only one reached the Ark. Of course I've looked and I can't find a source for this anywhere, so I think it's just speculation as well. [quote] Good theory, but I'm not sure if Mendicant Bias would have allowed something besides the reclaimers to get forerunner artifacts. Like at Onyx, the machines were very hostile to anything besides things which declared themselves as reclaimers. [/quuote] But if by letting the Covenant find forerunner artifacts he could reassemble himself and help the reclaimers, he would have allowed it. [quote] Also I don't think the AI on the ship with cortana was part of MB because there were also multiple covenant AI on the Unyielding Hierophant. So it seems like the covenant do have the ability to copy AIs but they jsut arent very good. Where they copied it? Idk [/quote] I think that all of the Covenant AIs, including the one on the Ascendant Justice were not an original part of MB, but rather a poor copy the Covenant made.
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Your post is incredible. It has actually made me once-again interested in the Halo-story. (I'm sorry if I'm straying away from your original concept, but something ticked-in my head upon reading your post. Something devious about Cortana.) Forgive me if you did already mention this, but I don't think you did. In Halo 3, upon receiving Cortana's transmission, she informs you that there is a final-solution through the portal to deal with the Flood that does not involve activating the Halo rings. Subsequently, Master Chief activates a Halo-ring. That has always been one of my major problems with Halo 3's plot; such an anti-climatic event for such a suspenseful statement by Cortana. A hidden solution apart from the rings. But perhaps now I see that this seeming plot-hole wasn't a hole at all; something intended; something meant to be filled. Should Cortana had been infected by Mendicant Bias; perhaps she was corrupted even prior to coming under control of the Gravemind. Perhaps her torment wasn't from Gravemind at all (as I cannot see how a flood-lifeform can truly effect an A.I.) but rather an internal-struggle Mendicant that copied itself to herself. It is interesting to note that also at the end of Halo 2; Cortana's reply to the Gravemind implied wiliness to answer questions; for a human-A.I this now seems like an unlikely motive to have; it seems as though her mind wasn't on the goals that should've been; humanity and not sharing information with an enemy. Mendicant Bias was previously designed to kill the Gravemind; but the Gravemind was capable of convincing it otherwise. From that moment on; Gravemind and Mendicant Bias were separated for 100,000 years. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs9lhTpISxQ]It was Cortana's insistence[/url] to stay in High-Charity, for the purpose of a direct-detonation. Despite High-Charity making it's way to Earth, and through the portal, no direct-detonation ever occurred. Her objective was not completed; [i]she possible misled Chief by the will of Mendicant Bias.[/i] It was perhaps the will of Mendicant Bias to have a reunion the Gravemind; thus the Halo-2 ending and the appearance of Cortana being unstressed at the time. It is only when she was attempting to have Chief come save her that she appears to be malfunctioning; upon Chief's retrieval of her, she once again becomes perfectly normal. (The transmission to Chief in Halo 3 always brings forth more-problems. It is incredibly curious how she even know about the portal. Her transmission was a recorded-message, and she was not at Earth to see it while everyone-else was confused. She even admitted in this transmission that the Gravemind did not know about the portal. She says, I quote, [i]"[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riOxIfZ-KWA]It's not safe to tell you everything, the Gravemind knows I'm in the network.[/url]"[/i] Of course he does, she revealed herself at the end of Halo 2 willingly. But Chief didn't know that detail; we do. This line of hers was attempting to cover-up that fact or feign innocence, or have a motive to withhold data. Unless, she is going through an actual-struggle with Mendicant Bias, and part of her transmission are from her and only-her; while the conversation at the end of Halo 2 was Mendicant Bias in Cortana's form.) [quote][i]"Silence fills the empty grave, now that I have gone. But my mind is not at rest, for questions linger on. Now I will ask, and you will answer."[/i][/quote] This was Gravemind's speech after the Halo 2 credits. The first line implies he was once dead; and now he is alive. That essentially implies he came from the grave; and back to life; meaning he existed once-before. That is well established. He puts emphasis on the 'you' in the last line. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfMurtLrV1k&feature=related]You can hear it here[/url]. The usage of the word 'Now' can imply also that there was a previous encounter with the A.I. This implies that previously, the A.I. he was talking to, asked the questions. (Which, Mendicant Bias did.) And now that the two were reunited at the end via-Cortana, Gravemind wants what Cortana knows about the humans; and what has occurred over the past 100,000 years since Halo's activation. Restating that I do not see how a flood-form can interrogate an A.I., unless the A.I. is willing, High-Charity's arrival at Earth demonstrated that he knew where everyone was; and what was going on. Cortana had to have told him. The possible deception and misleading is potentially everywhere. Back to the final-solution apart from the rings; there was no solution to the Flood found that was separate from the rings. It is possible that this detail that was intended to mislead Chief, and mostly humanity, into completed Cortana/Mendicant Bias' objectives; entering through the portal; slowly gathering the fragments. Where else did she mislead? Or, where else did [i]it[/i] mislead? Perhaps at Halo 3's ending, where they are drifting towards a mysterious planet. Did she really send out distress beacons like she said she did? Or perhaps the planet is of interest. So many questions. Edit: I wonder what this could also imply about the [url=http://marathon.bungie.org/story/cortana.html#1]Cortana-letters[/url]. Putting them in context of Mendicant-Bias saying them, rather than Cortana... Or am I going too far? [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] opogjijijp I find that to be a very intriguing idea that I hadn't considered at all. The Covenant AI and Cortana sharing a common ancestor. It also raises questions about what happened to the human shard of Mendicant Bias. Tucked away in some ONI installation on Earth? Could be something the Covenant are looking for.[/quote] Alarms just went off in my head once again. Upon you saying that; I have become suddenly reminded of the burning ONI-building in the Halo 3: ODST demo at E3, that Bungie had attempted to vehemently point-out to us. I think you have opened a Pandora's Box. Well-done. [Edited on 06.07.2009 1:52 AM PDT]
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My question is, where is Offensive Bias? More importantly, where is the Mantle, is it with Humanity? [Edited on 06.07.2009 3:23 AM PDT]
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I was under the impression that the "mantle" was symbolism for, well, for a lack of a better term, mass responsibility. I may have read the terminals wrong. Anyway, while I will reiterate that yes, a lot of what you speculate is pretty implausible and does jump the gun a bit more than it should, you've pointed out something that certainly may come of some importance later on. Cortana's quote to Dr. Halsey alone confirms the link between Mendicant Bias and the artifact, and I think you're on the right track here, even if some of your possible scenarios seem far-fetched (such as Truth knowingly aiding Mendicant. In Halo 2, we all thought Truth was some kind of mastermind. I believe it was in a ViDoc, an interview on B.net, or even a podcast that revealed that he was supposed to represented as mad, almost insane). Honestly, I don't really think there is anything that refutes your ideas. The main thing of interest, for me, is the artifact/SO-IV link.
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This is indeed a facinating theroy, and really, a completely plauseable one. If all this is true, then I expect we can see some of it being confirmed in ODST, and possibly that recovering the artifact/ Mendicant Bias Fragment in the ONI Building, or somewhere in that vicinity may be Capt. Dare's true mission. If so, it's completely possible that much of this may be the plotline of Reach. Facinateing to see if this is all true, and if it is, this may be one of the most accureate Halo Theroies that has ever popped up here. Excellent!
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In all the years Ive been here at Bungie.net I have only had my mind melted twice. This theory is officially the second time. This is truly one of the best theories I have ever read on these forums. Mad props to you man, I cant think of anything to add or detract from it. How long did this take you?
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For the most part I think the theory is sound and well thought out. I had problems with the Cortana/Covenant AI part. There's nothing in the text or games that suggests that Mendicant Bias ever came into contact with Cortana before attempting to hack the Dreadnought. On that note, I also think your assertion about the Covenant AI being a copy of Mendicant Bias to be a correct one. We've known the Covenant are imitative, not innovative, and there is very little to suggest that they wouldn't reverse engineer portions of Mendicant Bias to create their own AI.
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After walking around a little bit and thinking about the theory, I think another flawed part might be in your discussion about the small portion of Mendicant's fleet that broke away. Just from my memory, I believe that Didact had assembled a small fleet that was going to be deployed to rescue the Librarian from Earth but it was destroyed, effectively ending any chance he had at rescuing her. If I had to bet on it, I'd say that the fleet that Mendicant split off went to attack those ships waiting to pick her up. Obviously I could be wrong based off of time stamps but I don't have the time to hunt them all down at the moment.
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Always enjoy reading your theories OP.
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After quickly skimming through I can see this is going to make me think, possibly melting my brain. So, thread saved for later scrutiny. Watch this space for ideas.
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That's an amazing theory, kudos.
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I don't want to imagine how long it took you to come up with this...but it all makes sense.
