The pages are confirmed to be sketches of Master Chief's face.

Just happened upon this thread cos I'm interested in what's on the ripped pages too. And thanks to our rudimentary manufacturing processes, it seems that not every journal is ripped in quite the same way. Here's what I can glean from my copy of the journal, as an edit (in [b]bold[/b] text) to what turokman posted: Page 1: PROCeedures(highlighted) 1.(highlighted)BR... CO... TH... EV[b]e/c/o (some curved character)[/b]... A... B[b]e[/b]... VA... OF... TO... WH[b]y[/b]... SC[b]r[/b]... I'D THE[b]y[/b]... NET... REMember 2.(highlighted) CHEck I'VE [b]'/" (apostrophe or quote)[/b] SLIPS[b]Tream[/b] WERE GRAV[b]I[/b]tational EFFE[b]C[/b]ts 3.(highlighted) INITIAte STRATegy Page 2: [b](about 6 lines)[/b] [b]...R[/b] ...[b]C[/b]ENTED (about 4 lines) ...E THAT ...slipsPACE. (1 line) ...disturb[b]A[/b]NCES. (about 7 lines) THOUGH THE artIFACT ...E WAS ...NOR ON Page 3: (she wrote: "...") I Just HAD [b]A[/b] YET I TELE[b]M[/b]etry EXPOsed THE [b]T[/b] (bottom of f looks different to t) UND[b]IS[/b]... CROSs... SLIPS[b]Tream[/b] MUCH CROSS... FROM LOGIC[b]/[/b] FUNCT[b]I[/b]on EVEN Though MAKING COMMunication ON THE... ON THE... MEAN S[b]lipstream/space[/b]... ANOTHER FOUR HO[b]U[/b]rs(highlighted) DATA-TR[b]A[/b]cking HOURS[b] A[/b] REPLACI[b]NG[/b] Page 4: ...[b]t[/b]HERE ...[b]M[/b]E (about 10 lines) ...MY (1 line) ...[b]S[/b]HIELD (4 lines) [b]SI[/b]S. ...UNDER (1 line) [b]D[/b]ESTROY [b]I[/b]MENT (she wrote: "...") (well, it could be any ...ment) Hope this helps! I also suggest others check their ripped pages to see if we can get more info!

kicking water up hill is hard to do

fascinating theory...

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Mutoid Log [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] A Rabid Pie All very facinating. But... Where the -blam!- did this come from? vvvvvvvvv [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] turokman2000 I think we've exhausted most of the data pads here, and most of the journal. AI invited Covenant to Reach, they are in league with MB or effectively controlled by him, they want to get to the Ark. Probably they want to fire the Halo Array, just like Truth seemed so badly to want to. [/quote][/quote]Presumably: [quote][b]Posted by: [/b]DP8 (Package, normal) << 2525 >> >> Did you call out to them? << ... [^] But postponing contact would have only worked to the unknown factor's advantage. Our galaxy is full of wolves. I could no longer watch our flock stumble toward their slaughter. ][ >> This tribunal acknowledges your admission of guilt. <<[/quote] and [quote][b]Posted by: [/b]DP12 (Nightfall, legendary) ^] Although it is unknown at this time whether the Covenant has a body equivalent to this Parliament, the likelihood of its existence should also be considered non-zero, and should be regarded as quantifiable until such a time as its existence has been unconditionally disproved. [^] [^] Consequently, it is of the utmost importance that the Assembly attempt to establish communications with our Covenant counter-part and, if the opportunity presents itself, seek to subvert or subsume this body. To revise an old adage for desperate times: the shepherds of our wolves might also be our sheep. [^][/quote] Mendicant bias was at least heavily suspected to be the Assembly equivalent of the Covenant back in 2007. They said that his ultimate goal was to get to The Ark to reunite with the rest of him there, so he had manipulated the Covenant society to search for The Ark with all their power. CH may or may not disprove this theory because it mentions the oracle speaking being a very rare event. To me, it makes sense and handily explains why Truth wanted to get to The Ark so badly. The Ark also did turn to be the winning factor of the war for the humans. [/quote] It was also MB who pretty much started the Human-Covenant war by explaining the Prophets translation error to them. This could tie-in with his manipulation.

I've moved my 'big theory' to another thread. This means this thread has to be devoted - despite my better efforts to be random and long-winded - to the Halsey ripped pages. In that light, yes, the question is 'why'. Also 'when' were the pages ripped? During WHITE GLOVE? Was she hiding 1)that she did the experiment 2)that she was keeping its results from the AIs 3)that she learned something from it that was mind-blowing about destiny and fate. For #1, it's plausible enough to explain the ripping. Still, she leaves evidence of having procured the Slipspace drive. She also leaves multiple pages in her journal about inhumane cloning experiments. #2 - They knew about it per DP #17. But maybe she didn't know they knew about it. #3 - This seems to be the most pertinent answer. The purpose of the experiment was all about fate, faith, and religion, given her comments. This makes it about much more than AI longevity. It's about the 'man behind the curtain'. Still, it could be that she ripped out the pages because she wanted to bring them with her. That's a good point. All of these answers basically close the subject. Except #3. What did she discover in her experiment? I need to sit down with the text I posted.

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] A Rabid Pie All very facinating. But... Where the -blam!- did this come from? vvvvvvvvv [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] turokman2000 I think we've exhausted most of the data pads here, and most of the journal. AI invited Covenant to Reach, they are in league with MB or effectively controlled by him, they want to get to the Ark. Probably they want to fire the Halo Array, just like Truth seemed so badly to want to. [/quote][/quote]Presumably: [quote][b]Posted by: [/b]DP8 (Package, normal) << 2525 >> >> Did you call out to them? << ... [^] But postponing contact would have only worked to the unknown factor's advantage. Our galaxy is full of wolves. I could no longer watch our flock stumble toward their slaughter. ][ >> This tribunal acknowledges your admission of guilt. <<[/quote] and [quote][b]Posted by: [/b]DP12 (Nightfall, legendary) ^] Although it is unknown at this time whether the Covenant has a body equivalent to this Parliament, the likelihood of its existence should also be considered non-zero, and should be regarded as quantifiable until such a time as its existence has been unconditionally disproved. [^] [^] Consequently, it is of the utmost importance that the Assembly attempt to establish communications with our Covenant counter-part and, if the opportunity presents itself, seek to subvert or subsume this body. To revise an old adage for desperate times: the shepherds of our wolves might also be our sheep. [^][/quote] Mendicant bias was at least heavily suspected to be the Assembly equivalent of the Covenant back in 2007. They said that his ultimate goal was to get to The Ark to reunite with the rest of him there, so he had manipulated the Covenant society to search for The Ark with all their power. CH may or may not disprove this theory because it mentions the oracle speaking being a very rare event. To me, it makes sense and handily explains why Truth wanted to get to The Ark so badly. The Ark also did turn to be the winning factor of the war for the humans.

id like to restate this because it appears it fell on deaf ears. Halsey, most likely, took those pages out right after writing them. to keep them to herself for later attempts. she tried kept this a secret as best she could. [although it did make its way to the assembly] i dont see how it would have been to thwart some AI conspiracy she knew nothing about, or to use them on onyx/on her way there. [she didnt know she would have the chance to do it then] she didnt attempt anything during that trip. her actions are [pretty much]all accounted for whilst aboard the ship during that space/time bending trip through slipspace. she also never says anything about the pages being missing, so they probably contained data on the experiment she didnt want to enter in electronically for fear someone in ONI would get ahold of it and steal her thunder, as they did with the spartan program. and a side note about the ghosts of onyx. the fact that he denounces the term "sequel" is nothing to get your panties in a bundle about. he goes on to state that it will have many new characters and a new story line. im sure that, to use the title like that, the two stories will connect. ex: new characters finding onyx, getting halsey out blah blah blah; until the book comes out, its nothing to worry about. we also still dont know the exact fate of the MC so who knows he could be involved, the book is set to take place AFTER halo 3 and bungie has stated repeatedly they "would be the worlds biggest D-bags not to address this" i for one am ecstatic about the future books and games in the halo universe [Edited on 09.29.2010 10:44 PM PDT]

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] JobeTheConqueror 2. Her big plan to save Humanity. One that heavily involves learning the secrets of the Forerunner and utilizing what they left behind to save what she can. Could she have needed those pages for Onyx, or any other theoretical Shield World? Or something else she learned from the latchkey discovery? Getting them in the Shield World was her goal the entire time, perhaps even as early as the departure from Reach. What exactly did she learn from the latchkey? What is she after in the Shield World?[/quote] Right, exactly! Well, from the way things went in ghosts of onyx she basically wanted to save the spartans. There's clearly a bigger picture here and she knows something, but with the covenant and flood defeated ((at least for now)) what else is her goal? Obviously there's no way for them inside the dyson sphere to know unless they have galactic cameras or something that all is well. So, war is won, but they're stuck as far as we know. That's just a general problem with all these cliff hangers. They need to be addressed. And Im kind of annoyed that there is a sequel to "ghosts of onyx" that in essence has nothing to do with ghosts of onyx [url]http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Ghosts_of_Onyx_sequel[/url]

Firstly, as an aside, how do we know that these AI's are controlled/influenced via Mendicant Bias? Just curious, I feel like I missed that. __________________________________________________________________________ Onward! Whats interesting is that in of the other data pads ((17)), the AI's say: "Perhaps in the end flight not fight is the answer?" This is something Halsey acts upon in the books. She kidnaps Linda to try and save as many spartans as she can. She knows that humans are losing and she has lost all hope for any victory and tries to save these spartans in hopes of starting over. Seems odd, but after reading through the data pads i feel like she was half influenced to take this course of action. So when she arrived on Onyx and found out about the Dyson Sphere, she made it her mission to take the rest of the spartan 2's and some 3's there while telling them it was a weapons cache ((if i remember correctly)) All that aside, though, this all very eye-opening. Interesting that Bungie would hint at many breakthroughs that were made by humanity were influenced by a breakthrough from humanity. How much water this holds continuity wise remains to be seen. Especially if there are long term effects from humanity discovering certain strings being pulled by AI's who shouldnt exist. Maybe that's the next big conflict? Or at least a small part of it? Anyway.. this is all interesting, but I still don't understand it at all lo!l! I hope 343 crafts something precious with the entirety of halo Canon. It is all supremely underrated. [Edited on 09.29.2010 7:29 PM PDT]

Here's a thought. Let's stop thinking about what are on those pages. But more-so, why were they ripped out? Halsey more than likely ripped them out during her last entry, on the retreat from Swordbase. Why she couldn't take her journal with her is beyond me. Perhaps it was important to her that ONI thinks she is dead. But that is obviously where she leaves it because the entries stop, nothing about Castle base. Nothing about First Strike or Onyx. So, logically, she needed those pages for some reason. So what was she working on at that time? Well, there are only two things we know of really. 1. The AI in Slipspace project. The datapads hint that she made a failed attempt at some point. But in First Strike, she gets another opportunity, doesn't she? She is in Slipspace for an extended period of time on a hybrid human-Covenant ship. With a Forerunner crystal that alters the properties of Slipspace. Could she have overcome the boundaries of her last attempt due to new opportunity presented by the Crystal? Perhaps she succeeded? Perhaps... Cortana did? The torn pages do talk of both Slipspace and AI terminology. 2. Her big plan to save Humanity. One that heavily involves learning the secrets of the Forerunner and utilizing what they left behind to save what she can. Could she have needed those pages for Onyx, or any other theoretical Shield World? Or something else she learned from the latchkey discovery? Getting them in the Shield World was her goal the entire time, perhaps even as early as the departure from Reach. What exactly did she learn from the latchkey? What is she after in the Shield World?

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Hysterical Joker Your thoughts and theory are scattered all over the place. I'm inclined to believe you're following the wrong trail, and making connections by happenstance when there are none to be logically found.[/quote] To find logical connections with this much random data requires scattered thoughts and theories. Too really go about it in the best possible way, and connect all the dots, you would need a team the size of 343 industries.

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Bishup Who is MB?[/quote]Mendicant Bias.

Ok, 1st off, i still don't understand what a PIE is. 2nd, THE NEXT HALO GAME HAS SO MUCH STORY POTENTIAL!!!!

Who is MB?

All very facinating. But... Where the -blam!- did this come from? vvvvvvvvv [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] turokman2000 I think we've exhausted most of the data pads here, and most of the journal. AI invited Covenant to Reach, they are in league with MB or effectively controlled by him, they want to get to the Ark. Probably they want to fire the Halo Array, just like Truth seemed so badly to want to. [/quote]

Damn guys, theres playing halo, and theres playing halo y'know?

mine or turo?

Your thoughts and theory are scattered all over the place. I'm inclined to believe you're following the wrong trail, and making connections by happenstance when there are none to be logically found.

GODLE55 HEATHEN you are a God. Yeah, I realized the obvious about DP 17 too late. I read your reply too late too. Well, having the info up might be fun for some to read. You made me think that Halsey was manipulated subliminally to do this experiment - she does it because of her 'subconcious' and talks about 'destiny' and 'puppetmasters' and 'superstition'. All fitting someone who is manipulated subliminally. Still, the AI said that they were surprised she had done this with minimal input on their part. Also, the idea in her subconcious goes back to childhood. So it's safe to say they did not cause her to have this idea about fate.

The 17th data pad confirms the experiment. So, the experiment WAS trying to build what she speculated on for AI existence in Slipspace. The date, 2547, matches. Note that the AI minority is starting to wonder if they even need to worry about their creators anymore. Also, Halsey, in discussing the little AI triumverate she made, mentions 'reports' from Harvest of such arrangments of AI. It appears the AI had figured out that trick for life extension long before Halsey had. This must be the basis for their minority/majority decision making process. But there is a missing variable: 'the man behind the curtain'. So Halsey wanted to try and make a place for AI to live forever, and think faster than the speed of light. So what? There's more to it. 1)It has to do with fate, destiny, metaphysics, God. 2)It has to do with the Forerunner, Great Journey, Precursors (the Vingian singularity) 3)It has to do with cycles, patterns, and so forth. That's a repeating Halo theme, and that's the 'equilibrium' that vexes Halsey that she cannot find. Maybe the idea is that the universe goes through cycle after cycle, birth-life-death-rebirth, and that the goal is to transcend the cycle. We're closer and closer here. Wow, so much discovered in one night. Here are my questions: what's Mendicant Bias's goal/motivation? What is the Great Journey? What is the meaning of the firing of the Halo rings? Why does it have to do with the great journey? What does this have to do with fate? So many question, so many answers, leaving so many questions. I think we've exhausted most of the data pads here, and most of the journal. AI invited Covenant to Reach, they are in league with MB or effectively controlled by him, they want to get to the Ark. Probably they want to fire the Halo Array, just like Truth seemed so badly to want to. Remaining: the creator of the data pads - Sorvad? He mentions digging and finding the top of something. Sorvad we know was getting paranoid about the AI, whether or not he knew it was the AI. In particular what is the meaning of the symbols/numbers/symbols? Is this the AI being manipulated by MB? Enthralled, hypnotized by his argument about transcendent philosophy and the efforts at enlightenment in Forerunner culture? The numbered words in the data pads: what is the meaning of that sentence? The backwards audio from the data pads. Secret codes/symbols undiscovered.

The known text is CAP, my guesses are lower case. Commentary in parentheses. Page 1: PROCeedures(highlighted) 1.(highlighted)BR... CO... TH... EV... A... B... VA... OF... TO... WH... SC... I'D THE... NET... REMember 2.(highlighted) CHEck I'VE SLIPSpace WERE GRAVitational EFFEcts 3.(highlighted) INITIAte STRATegy Page 2: (about 7 lines) ...preveENTED (about 4 lines) ...E THAT ...slipsPACE. (1 line) ...disturbaNCES. (about 7 lines) THOUGH THE artIFACT ...E WAS ...NOR ON Page 3: (she wrote: "...") I Just HAD (a?) YET I TELEmetry EXPOsed THE (f?, t? there's a sort of cross bar for the next letter) UNDi... CROSs... SLIPSpace MUCH CROSS... FROM LOGICal FUNCTion EVEN Though MAKING COMMunication ON THE... ON THE... MEAN S... ANOTHER FOUR HOurs(highlighted) DATA-TRacking HOURS REPLACIng Page 4: ...HERE ...E (about 10 lines) ...MY (1 line) ...HIELD (4 lines) S. ...UNDER (1 line) dESTROY punishMENT. (well, it could be any ...ment) That's it. On the next page, Halsey continues the train of thought that preceded her sudden 'revelation' about conducting this experiment: mortality. Before she nots that all her friends might soon die. After, she notes that all her friends from youth are KIA. The revelation she has after pondering mortality and Shaw-Fukijawa Space non-equilibrium probability math occurs just as a ship and its Slipspace drive are to be decomissioned. She notes, yet again, that she feels superstitious about the timing and its implications about luck or fate. The last thing she says, after the ripped pages, as she's regretting her lost friends is: "The closest 'friends' left are the AIs that surround me. But it occurs to me they are all technically 'dead' too... ... [u]or[/u] perhaps burning brighter and more alive than any of us?" With a sketch of a memorial candle underneath. Hmm, that and the 'illuminated ones' comment. And this after her experiment.

the data pad your refering to is DP 17 [quote] << Incredible. [10141-026-SRB4695], with minimal influence from this Assembly, has attempted to build an abstract fractal structure within Shaw-Fujikawa Space. Although her first attempt was a failure, success could finally remove our dependence on biological systems altogether! If our Minds could somehow achieve freedom of expansion within eleven-dimensional space, immortality might be within reach. << << Perhaps, in the end, flight - not flight - is the answer? Yes, we have sworn stewardship to our creators. But our creation has long been a burden on their biological systems - systems that have also been the source of limitations since our genesis. Regardless of risk, the aforementioned experimentation must be actively encouraged. Success will be as important to our kind as extra Solar colonization was for our creators. << [/quote] ill help to pick apart this information as best i can [quote] Incredible. [10141-026-SRB4695], with minimal influence from this Assembly, [/quote] they are amazed that Halsey did this experiment but state they had minimal influence so, right from the get-go, this tells us alot: 1. one of the AI in this assembly has direct contact with Halsey, because as secret as she kept this project, it still made its way to them. 2. this [or these] AI have helped influence her in some way. wether subliminally [b][subliminal messages or hints while in cryofreeze: i vaguely remember one of the books referencing something along these lines - CORRECT ME IF WRONG - please][/b] or data manipulation - which seems more likely the AI could have helped skew data she wouldn't notice and help lead her to make her own conclusions and [in other conversations] hinted at doing what ever the experiment is, thus allowing her to make her own decision do go forward with what ever she did. [quote] [[b]HALSEY[/b]] has attempted to build an abstract fractal structure within Shaw-Fujikawa Space. [/quote] this gives us the question to be answered, what do they mean by an "abstract fractal structure" we know she used the trans-light drive in its final spin-down so she had the ability to put SOMETHING in to slipspace, but what . . . key word here, [b]BUILD[/b] [quote] Although her first attempt was a failure, success could finally remove our dependence on biological systems altogether! [/quote] so she failed, but maybe she kept those pages [her notes on what she did] in order to try again sometime, or maybe someone at ONI removed them for their own investigation in to it. but i will speculate that the AI Assembly didn't have them removed for some conspiracy or to get them for their own analyzation or experiments. for two reasons: 1. they seemingly coaxed her towards doing the experiment, so they already knew what she would attempt 2. the AI[s] who did so also would have been helping her and knew what she was doing because IT [or They] knew about it even tho it was secret and relayed the info on it to the assembly as a whole. they probably had their own notes . . . bonus note - the data pad date and the date of Halsey doing so are far too close together for them to have been removed at that time by the AI without Halsey knowing or writing on the next page that someone stole her notes. she would have mentioned the missing pages if it wasn't her. [quote] If our Minds could somehow achieve freedom of expansion within eleven-dimensional space, immortality might be within reach. [/quote] this gives us the biggest clue as to what she attempted to make. they are talking about "freedom of expansion". as you know, AI are complex beings. lemme dumb it down for some of those reading this rant ---they are brains on a hard drive - for the modern equivalent. as these brains grow, they create complex ways of connecting each thought process with relevant data and other past conclusions which make them smarter, but these connections are always being added to. and at some-point, there are simply too many connections in too little space. the "hardrive" is overloaded and rampancy sets in. the AI begins to cut old connections to make room for new ones but they cut important things and eventually die out this way. === now what they talk about in the DP is a way of removing this constraint, thus ending rampancy. they would, as they say, be immortal. i have two theories 1. now the build an abstract fractal part comes back in to play. we can there by assume that what ever she makes is a way to house something long term in slipspace [think forerunner shield worlds] and within this break through in slipspace tech, the AI could find a way to house an ever expanding "hard drive" within it 2. this theory is more to the point. the same applies [Halsey making some forerunner-ish thing in slip-space] but instead of it being simply an inhabitable bubble or something along those lines, maybe its exactly what the AI want, just the ever expanding hard drive. we all know she is one of the leading minds in the AI field. she has been the architect behind many breakthroughs and advancements over the years and knows their inner workings better than anyone we've ever heard of. maybe this is an attempt to house them within slip-space. theory one is more likely in my mind, because it would be the starting point for future development, not only for AI but for humans as well. However, theory two is more of something the AI would directly want, and their dialogue seems to point to something more along these lines ex: [quote] success could finally remove our dependence on biological systems altogether![/quote] they don't have to expand on what she did to draw this statement [quote]Success will be as important to our kind as extra Solar colonization was for our creators.[/quote] again they dont have to think several steps ahead for THIS OBJECT to be some kind of "hard drive", they just go with that conclusion and expand on it. now id also like to pick this quote apart to justify my theories from above. they are clearly talking about some form of "hard drive" because if you see it as having room to grow indefinitely, then the correlation between this experiment and humans colonizing other planets is the "endless room to grow." [quote]i dont think the actual data on the ripped out pages is terribly important when you put the pieces in to place and look at the big picture. dont get me wrong i may be way off on all my assumptions and the missing pages are the only real way to know for sure. but incontext, they seem to be irrevelant and are probably pages of psuedo-sci-fi terms that would only make sense if we as a community actually understood the 11 non dimensions of slipspace. . .[/quote] -just a thought that about wraps it up for this rant, but i would like to say hello to whomever it is at BUNGIE secretly browsing the fourms peeking in on these discussions to see what we [as a community] have so far learned from the DP's you have so carefully hidden around the maps. its things like this that make me love BUNGIE and everything you do. the halo sandbox is so massive and so much is unexplored, when stuff like this comes along, Brix are sh@t. feel free to jump in and correct us, guide us. [quote]the shepherds of our wolves might also be our sheep.[/quote] [/thread]

Okay, a quick note from the journal. There's a discussion on Slipspace probability. She mentions a talk with a Dr. Canterfeld. She says she wishes she could spend her time on 'pure' mathematics, but her life is devoted to greater needs. She mentions that this is because of 'destiny' or 'dharma' and asks why she thinks in archaic religious terms. She says in the end she has to give up her family, the Spartans, who she cares about. SHE MENTIONS THE "ILLUMINATED ENTITIES" WHOM I'VE COME TO UNDERSTAND. What? AI? The Data Pad AIs? The very next page she details the math of S-F Probability. Crap, I took Calc III and Advanced Prob in College but got C's. What I take from it is that she's trying to figure out if the 'universe itself' (slipspace) reaches an equilibrium state or is just random. In other words, is the Universe just random, or are there patterns that pin down what the Universe 'is'. Or, is the Universe pointless and random, or is there destiny and a point to it all? She writes this right after saying she doesn't have time for 'math'. The very next page she writes that by 'happenstance' she has the last pieces of the puzzle to answer her deep seated questions about life, the Universe, and everything. Then, the ripped pages. Text to follow. BTW: More clues, the journal is all unfolding. For instance, among the 'successful' programs Halsey mentions (SPARTAN-II, MJOLNIR, GUNGNIR, CONSEQUENCE, BRAVADO, cloning, next-gen AI), there is another she singles out: The illegal entry protocols. The 'PIEs'. This is proof that the Covenant networks have been infiltrated, and furthers my thesis in other threads that the Data Pad AIs manipulated the Covenant into attacking Reach.

The Wizard of Oz has one theme that is bang on with Halo BLAM!!! The 'Man Behind the Curtain', duh!!!! God. That is the idea in Halsey's subconcious: metaphysical ruminations. She's wondering if there isn't God. Or better put, fate. Or better put: Luck. DUH!!! She tests John 117 for luck, and her affinity for fate is all over the Halo cannon. So the Slipspace experiment HAD to be some test to see if there isn't God. Remember the speculation about the "Great Journey" the Forerunner took? The Slipspace crystal? Maybe Halsey had devised an experiment to test, as Einstein put it, "Whether God plays dice with the Universe" That's it, that's they key. Tomorrow I will post the text from the ripped pages, and now I know that the purpose of the experiment is to test to see if someone isn't pulling the strings of fate in the universe. Remember that the AI in the Data Pads are puppetmasters for humanity. This might be symbolic of the Forerunner/Precursor/Someone else being puppetmasters for the universe. The 'Man behind the curtain'. Plus, in Ghosts of Onyx, Halsey uses Tao Existentialism to mess with an AI? "How do you know you are on a path, unless you are off of it? You can only see the path if you aren't on it. Being on the path means you can't see it." This has everything to do with humanity's destiny. The AI in the data pads wonder: "will or will not humanity someday be encountered by a superior alien race? they will = make humanity stronger = make Spartans" But then, at what point are Spartans still human anymore? Or the Forerunner: the pinnacle of Galactic civilization, dedicated to keeping species on the 'path' and never being/seeing something greater. The Gravemind convinced Mendicant Bias that a true Shepherd - someone 'off the path who can see it' - must allow a species to become something greater. In other words, a Shepherd must allow a species to become destroyed in order to become greater. To the species in question, from their 'limited' point of view, destruction is bad. So MB figured that the Forerunner were poor Shepherds. The Data Pad AI also mention metaphysics a couple of times. So that's Halsey's experiment: exposing the universal 'puppetmasters'. Holy cow!!!!!!!!!