Halo 5 Guardians: #huntthetruth
- Thread starter Wario64
- Start date
Didact had just tricked chief into releasing him by spoofing the human radio signal, after which he tossed him aside and (thought he had) trapped him in the cryptum.
Chemical Rampancy
Banned
So the Didact isn't smart enough to assess that the hero which prevented the Covenant from wiping out humanity, would try and prevent the Didact from wiping out humanity?
wesleyshark
Banned
Lord of Admirals was within Chakas, who is 343GS.
IsoDidact, literal copy of Ur-Didact, was within Riser, whose descendant is the Master Chief*.
*not confirmed yet but heavily theorized.
That's crazy. 343 really pushed the 360 to its limits.
How exactly would the Didact know that the Chief had done that? He was literally woken up 5 minutes ago from a many millennia long sleep.
Onikaan
Member
wesleyshark
Banned
How would he have known about any of that? He literally was just released from thousands and thousands of years of utter isolation within his Cryptum.
Why would he have known that from within the cryptum?
JumPeRJumPzZ
Banned
Not really crazy. Halo Cutscenes were always real time and of course looked a bit better than the gameplay stuff.
Poodlestrike
Banned
What is this from
What did I miss!
I think it's from the most recent "best games on Xbox" ad.
Chemical Rampancy
Banned
I don't know? How did he come to assume that this green piece of armour (which contains a non human) was human and why did he attack it instantaneously for no discernible reason?
How did he even emulate the Infinity signal? How did he even know the Chief was around to track it?
How did he know the Covenant would just follow him?
Why didn't he just chill the fuck out like his wife asked him too?
Why the fuck is he even alive?
What the fuck?
wesleyshark
Banned
He waged war with ancient humanity for many, many, many years. He knew MC was human by sight- not to mention his armor suit would have told him thus anyway.
It wasn't him. It was
Mendicant Bias
Chemical Rampancy
Banned
Onikaan
Member
Fairly sure only a Reclaimer (human) could unlock him from his Cryptum. That would have definitely confirmed it.
He has a seriously advanced suit of crazy forerunner armour on. I don't think it would be too difficult for him to scan the chief and find out exactly what he was.
Come on man, you're reaching pretty far here.
All it would take is bouncing the actual signal the Infinity was sending out from the place Bias/Didact wanted the Chief to go.
Chemical Rampancy
Banned
No I'm not?
So he's been sentenced to recollect his thoughts for a thousand years by the woman he loves, so what's the first thing he does after freedom?
"I'm pretty fockin' pissed off, I'm not gonna even bother getting a sense of what the fuck has happened for these last 1k years, instead I'm gonna go fockin' kill humanity, except this human cos ???????????"
It's just flat out incompetence. The Didact is an idiot.
wesleyshark
Banned
That also. The Librarian left the keys to his Cryptum to whomever the Reclaimer would be and when they eventually would find him.
Mendicant Bias took the initiative to send MC and Cortana to Requiem after the battle on Installation 00.
Mendicant Bias took the initiative to send MC and Cortana to Requiem after the battle on Installation 00.
You're reaching with the whole "how does he even know he's human?" complaint.
Onikaan
Member
Could you explain to me how MB is connected to the end of Halo 3?
I've never heard about it before
I've never heard about it before
Chemical Rampancy
Banned
Right because of his magic suit, not that it did him much good when he actually faced the Chief later.
WhiteRabbitEXE
Member
He didn't "attack it instantaneously" despite you repeating that he did. Chief attempted to flee, Didact grabbed him and prevented him, and then tossed him away as he himself left. Not really the same thing.
As for the rest of the questions, it's clear the Didact's cryptum had a significant array extremely powerful sensors and scanning equipment (because we see them in use multiple times and the game literally says as much). He knew Chief was there (and human) from the moment the Dawn drifted onto the scene, and he was tracking and leading him from that point on. Ditto for the Infinity. It wasn't very hard for him to manipulate the two from there.
He knew the Covies would follow him for the same reason. They were floating around Requiem for years, and by scanning their transmissions was likely able to discern that they had a fanatical religious obsession not just with Forerunners in general, but the Didact himself. Again, from there they were extremely easy to manipulate.
He didn't chill the fuck out because... he didn't want to? He blames humanity for everything (the loss of his children, bringing the Flood to Forerunner space, likely his wife's betrayal itself, etc.)
He's still alive because 1) his cryptum kept him alive (for the majority of the time he was basically in suspended animation) and 2) Forerunners have long lifespans anyway.
Oh, and since when is Chief not human?
WhiteRabbitEXE
Member
Didact doesn't want to kill humanity. His goal was to compose them as both punishment and precaution (which he attempted to do to Chief as well). Basically a species-wide imprisonment rather than an extermination. He's crazy, but not quite homicidal/genocidal. He believes humanity's continued freedom is detrimental to the well-being of the galaxy and wants them permanently contained, but not destroyed.
Seriously though, now you're just sounding bitter.
Anyway, to answer some of you're other complaints. He's pretty "fookin' pissed off" with the humans because he basically sees them as the reason his entire race and all his children were killed. If you'd spent a few thousand years brooding on the fact that your entire race has probably been destroyed and you believe the reason for it was the humans you'd be pretty pissed off with them too. You'd probably even hatch a plan to kill them all.
Also he probably assumed the chief would have died at the end of that cutscene anyway. The fact that the chief did survive is damn lucky considering the level which follows, that entire section of Requiem is falling apart.
Chemical Rampancy
Banned
That's assault, he grabbed the chief non consensually and threw him. Your defence would not hold up in court. The Didact attacked the chief on sight and is looking at, at least two years jail time.
This is a fair point.
So why didn't he know about the chief given covenant transmissions? Why didn't he kill him?
He sounds pretty irrational.
Well I was under the impression that Spartans are as human as we are to the ancestor we shared with apes.
Why do you assume that?
Chemical Rampancy
Banned
Iirc their augmentations puts them on a different level to us entirely, at least going by fall of reach.
Poodlestrike
Banned
No, no, they're pretty much human.
They're still very much human though. Just extremely powerful humans.
Chemical Rampancy
Banned
Aren't they emotionally restricted due to certain augmentations (sex drive etc)? If what I remember from FoR is true, I'd be reluctant to call them human.
WhiteRabbitEXE
Member
They're on another level in terms of physical capabilities, endurance, and senses, but genetically they are still quite human. Think more Captain America, less Superman.
itt asexuals aren't human
Poodlestrike
Banned
They're developmentally stunted in some ways due to the augmentations going in at puberty, but, again, that doesn't make them nonhuman. No more than any other asexual person is.
wesleyshark
Banned
Mendicant Bias inadvertently (or some may argue it was purposely) started the Human-Covenant War when he told the Prophets that their interpretations had been wrong and that Humans were the true heirs to all that the Forerunners had left behind. To hide this truth, the Prophets sought to eradicate humanity in its entirety.
For Mendicant Bias, getting the Keyship to earth was a major priority, as the portal to the Lesser Ark was there. The portal was the lock. The dreadnought was the key.
Yep. The entire Human-Covenant war was based on the mistranslation of that single word. The Prophets had the glyph upside down for eons, and only Truth, Mercy, and Regret were there that fateful day to witness MB's correction:
Reclamation > Reclaimer
And they chose to keep that a secret. The Great Journey is a lie.
--
Here's the relevant passage from Contact Harvest:
The hangar beyond was an immense, triangular vault. Unlike the Dreadnoughts bleached exterior, its walls shone mirrored bronze in the light of countless holographic glyphs. These explanatory and cautionary symbols (arranged in tight, vertical lines) floated near small holes in the hangars angled walls. Although Fortitude knew what the holes were for, he had never actually seen them put to use...
Soon after the Covenants founding, SanShyuum experiments with early copies of the Dreadnoughts Luminary led them to a gas giant planet in a system near the Sangheilis home. The SanShyuum had hoped to find a treasure trove of relics and were disappointed when all they found were the Lekgolo, huddled in the planets rings. But when the Prophets realized what the intelligent worms had done, they were appalled.
The icy rocks that made up the rings were in fact fragments of some obliterated Forerunner installation that once orbited the gas giant. And the reason the rocks were no longer rich with relics was because the Lekgolo had spent millennia ingesting themchewing them up and spitting them outas they carved their tight and twisting burrows. The odd thing was, the Lekgolo had discerning palates. Some colonies would only ingest Forerunner alloys; others dined exclusively on rock rich in crushed and compacted circuits. And a few, very rare colonies would avoid such foreign objects altogether, carefully cutting around battered remains of relics like paleontologists would a fossil.
Of course the SanShyuum believed any unauthorized contact with Forerunner objects was heresy, punishable by death, and ordered the Sangheili to eradicate the worms. But the Sangheili were ill-equipped to fight creatures that had no ships or soldiers to speak of and whose fortifications were the very things they were trying to save. In the end, a particularly insightful Sangheili commanderone of the species revered Arbiterssuggested it might be better to tame the Lekgolo and put their and habits to good use. As eager as they were to assert their moral authority, the Prophets begrudgingly agreed that the worms, properly trained, could be very useful in future reclamations, and they forgave the Lekgolos sins.
After ages of experimentation on lesser relics, the SanShyuum had finally gotten up the nerve to attempt an unprecedented exploration of the Dreadnought. Since their departure from their homeworld (and even during the darkest days of their war with the Sangheili) they had limited their studies to the ships easily accessible systems. While the SanShyuum had been desperate to explore the processing pathways in the Dreadnoughts thick hull, they were terrified they might damage something vital.
And so it was with great care that the ascetic priests had carved their first, tentative hole and slipped in a carefully chosen Lekgolo. They had waited in mortal terror for the worm to dig too deepand more than that, for what the Dreadnoughts Oracle might say. But the Lekgolo emerged without incident, and the vessels most high and holy resident hadnt said a word.
The Oracles silence wasnt unusual. Fortitude had never heard of it speaking in his lifetime, nor had his father or his father before that. And when those pioneering priests had gotten no response, they gradually increased their Lekgolo probes untilas was now clearly the casethe once frightful process had become mundane. Following an angled piece of scaffolding to the very top of the hangar, the Minister watched as the SanShyuum priests on the barge signed a series of orders to the waiting Huragok, and all parties made ready for the next retrieval.
With more speed than the Minister would have guessed, the Philologist rotated his chair and floated to a phalanx of shadowed machinery in the center of the room. As he drew close, holographies flicked on high above, revealing a cluster of onyx obeliskspowerful processing towers linked togetherand before these: the Dreadnoughts Oracle.
Even though Fortitude had seen many representations of the holy object, it was smaller than he had expected. Locked inside an armature that kept it head-height above the floor, the Oracle was tethered to the obelisks with strands of neatly plaited wire. These circuits connected to small, golden pads affixed to the Oracles casing: a teardrop of silver alloy not much longer than the Ministers neck.
The casings tapered end faced the obelisks. Its round end angled toward the floor and held a dark glass lens. There was a gap around the lens and the casing, and through this, Fortitude could see pinpoints of lightcircuits running at low power. These were the Oracles only signs of life.
This is all the data? the Philologist asked, slotting the wafer into one of the obelisks.
From the ships Luminary as well as its sensors. Fortitude edged closer to the Oracle. For some reason, he was overwhelmed with a desire to reach up and touch it. As old as the object was, its casing was absolutely smoothhad no dents or scratches. Fortitude gazed deep into the Oracles lens. There are reports of a new species on the planet that holds the relics, but they appear to be primitivesa tier-four species. I dont expect they shall
Suddenly, the Oracles circuits blazed. The lens refracted the light, sending forth a blinding beam. Not a lens. Fortitude gasped. An eye! He raised a sleeve before his face as the Oracle tilted toward him in its armature.
< FOR EONS I HAVE WATCHED >
The Oracles deep voice reverberated inside its casing. Its eye-beam flickered with the cadence of its words as it pronounced in the SanShyuum tongue.
<LISTENED TO YOU MISINTERPRET >
Hearing the Oracle speak was, for any faithful member of the Covenant, like listening to the Forerunners own voice. Fortitude was appropriately humbled, but not just because the Oracle had finally spoken after Ages of silence. In truth, he was just as surprised to learn that the Philologist was not (as he had always suspected) an utter fraud.
Fortitude had made this appointment for formalitys sake. Luminations presented as evidence before the High Council required the Oracles blessing, which for Ages had meant convincing the current Philologist to affirm on its behalf. But these holy hermits were just as political as any other powerful SanShyuumequally susceptible to bribes and blackmail. Fortitude had expected he would have to make some sort of donation to the Philologist (a small share of the reliquary, perhaps) in order to get the blessing he required.
But if the old charlatan is putting me on, Fortitude watched as the Philologist stepped from his chair and dropped feebly to his knees before the Oracle, hes certainly giving it his all.
Blessed Herald of the Journey! the Philologist wailed, neck low and arms spread wide. Tell us the error of our ways!
The Oracles eye dimmed. For a moment it looked as though it might resume its long silence.
But then it blazed anew, projecting a hologram of the reclamation glyph recorded by Rapid Conversions Luminary.
< THIS IS NOT RECLAMATION > the Oracle boomed. < THIS IS RECLAIMER >
Slowly the glyph turned upside down, and its central shapesthe concentric circles, one low inside the other, connected by a thin linetook on a different aspect. The shapes previous arrangement had resembled the pendulum of a clock. Inverted, the glyph now looked like a creature with two curved arms locked above its head. The glyph shrunk in size as the hologram zoomed out to show the entire alien world, covered with thousands of these newly oriented Luminations.
< AND THOSE IT REPRESENTS ARE MY MAKERS >
Now it was Fortitudes turn to feel weak in the knees. He grasped the arms of his throne and tried to come to terms with an impossible revelation: each glyph represented a Reclaimer, not a relic, and each Reclaimer was one of the planets alienswhich could only mean one thing.
Just then, the abbey began to shudder. Many decks below, the Dreadnoughts mighty engines sprang to life, shaking free of the limiters that kept them generating the comparatively meager energy High Charity required. Soon the engines would build to full capacity, and then
Disconnect the Oracle! Fortitude shouted, knuckles white upon his chair. Before the Dreadnought launches and destroys the city!
But the Philologist paid him no heed. The sacred vessel breaks its shackles! The elderly SanShyuums arms were trembling. He no longer seemed afraidhe seemed inspired. The Gods will be done!
The hologram of the alien world disappeared, and once more the Oracles eye shone forth.
< I WILL REJECT MY BIAS AND WILL MAKE AMENDS >
The vaults dark walls began to glow as their veinlike pathways brightened inside them. The ancient circuits surged with light that raced into the obelisks behind the Oracle. The banded red and brown rocks began to crack, venting plumes of chalky vapor. Suddenly, the Vice Minister sprung from his chair, plasma-pistol drawn.
Shut it off! he screamed, leveling his weapon at the Philologist. The pistols tip shone brilliant green as it built up an overcharge bolt. Or I will burn you where you stand!
But at that moment, the Oracles lens became so brightbegan to flash with such feverish frequencythat it threatened to blind all three SanShyuum. Tranquility screamed and brought the long sleeves of his robes up before his eyes.
< MY MAKERS ARE MY MASTERS >
The Oracles teardrop casing rattled inside its armature as if it were trying to take flight with its ship.
< I WILL BRING THEM SAFELY TO THE ARK >
I need more alcohol.
ElRenoRaven
Member
Backwards phantom?
Chemical Rampancy
Banned
Obviously amongst other things...
And it's not like I haven't realised you've ignored my other points.
I feel this can't be stressed enough. If the Didact was such a fantastic character with great motivations, why not have that shown in the actual game? The games should always have the meat of the plot, and shit like that should never be hidden away in books/terminals. It was so bad, that by the end of my first run of Halo 4 I was annoyed we never got to see him die properly cause that just meant he was coming back and I sure as hell didn't want a whole trilogy with this guy.
One of the Blur H2A cutscenes has a phantom flying backwards. It's very quick though so hardly noticeable.
WhiteRabbitEXE
Member
The issue was that 343i felt there wasn't a strong enough link to books and other material in-game (by the time they took over we saw Halsey in Reach and... that was basically it), so they decided to use the books as a launching ground for a lot of stuff that would pay-off in game. For fans deeply invested in both sides it paid off, for those mostly invested in the core game plots, obviously the results were mixed.
wesleyshark
Banned
See above. But...
Tl;dr:
Mendicant Bias was behind what started the Human-Covenant War.
Mendicant Bias was behind causing Master Chief and Cortana to end up adrift in space and on a collision path with Requiem, while the Arbiter was sent back to Earth.
Mendicant Bias is seeking atonement for his previous sins, and his plan, while in a fragmented state, has been to bring humanity to the Ark and to send the Reclaimer to awaken the Ur-Didact, who was supposed to come out of his Cryptum having recanted his prejudice and hate against humanity, but because the firing of the Halos severed the Domain, it left the Ur-Didact to rot with his own inner turmoil for a millenia in his Cryptum, and he emerged unchanged.
Mendicant Bias was behind causing Master Chief and Cortana to end up adrift in space and on a collision path with Requiem, while the Arbiter was sent back to Earth.
Mendicant Bias is seeking atonement for his previous sins, and his plan, while in a fragmented state, has been to bring humanity to the Ark and to send the Reclaimer to awaken the Ur-Didact, who was supposed to come out of his Cryptum having recanted his prejudice and hate against humanity, but because the firing of the Halos severed the Domain, it left the Ur-Didact to rot with his own inner turmoil for a millenia in his Cryptum, and he emerged unchanged.
And this was something that Bungie had started all the way back between Halo 2 and 3, and 343i expanded it and kept it going. It's one of the most longest running plot spines in the entire Halo franchise, and it's going to be pretty cool once it comes to fruition.
Poodlestrike
Banned
What other points? They've got well-above-average genetics, chemical and biomechanical enhancements, and a lifetime of training. That doesn't make them non-human, just super-human.
Chemical Rampancy
Banned
Well if they're biologically, chemically, physically and psychologically different to humans then there's a pretty strong case to say that they aren't human.
Do you think all Covenant transmissions read the Chief's CV out loud or something?
ElRenoRaven
Member
Ah. That would explain it. If it was a very quick moment I doubt I would have.
If this ends up being a one time thing because they had nothing previous to build on, then that's fine. Just hope this doesn't happen again for Halo 5 since from what I gather after Halo 4,
(I think) a form of the Didact is killed in a comic and Chief meets up with Blue Team.
Though to be fair, at least this time the whole HuntTheTruth thing has been doing well in setting up the backdrop for the events in 5 while simultaneously not being so horribly obscure. At this point I'm way more interested in the Chief/Locke/Halsey/ONI plot threads than the Forerunner stuff anyway.
MrGreencastle
Member
Not different to, rather enhanced from. Important distinction I would say. And this is a debate I think we'll be hearing more of in real life, too. Transhumanism and all that jazz. Study our past and present condition, then extrapolate to the future, applying technology as a means to accelerate toward that extrapolation, and potentially expand upon where natural selection may not have taken us. Still human, I think, just "newer".
LordOfChaos
Member
What is this from
What did I miss!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4rMUXsInT0&spfreload=10
Also if that part is part of a Halo 5 cutscene, I wonder if the Chief bit at the end is too. What could be going on there? Looks digital-ey.
Ok, so, the original plan was for the Didact to be brought back to sanity by meditating on the Domain for that long. However, unknown to them,
the Halo array also wiped out the Domain, which was the last, fantastic, terrible FU of a trick from the Precursors/the Primordial. So the Librarian accidentally just made him meditate on his own insane thoughts for that long.
Poodlestrike
Banned
Well... I mean, I get where you're coming from, but that's not how biology works; what delineates one species from another is the ability to cross-reproduce and produce viable (non-sterile) offspring. Now, AFAIK, nobody's tried, but until it's shown one way or the other, I'd say that they're certainly genetically similar enough to count as the same species.
I'm wondering this as well. And I really hope it's addressed. I don't know how things like this make it past QA and game testers.
