Halo Lore Thread

Fuchsdh said:
Well I assume it's some kind of hard-light armature. I kinda' like it, although I feel like it's a bit more overwrought then it needs to be.

What I thought was interesting was
Cortana's hatred of Halsey. She refers to her as a monster, and as eventually 'paying for her crimes'. I can see a lot of people taking this as more Halsey-hate from 343, but I think it's actually rather personal—I think she has come to see Halsey's "callous" use and creating of the AIs like herself, sentient beings essentially that could not truly interact with the world and who were doomed to death from birth, as the crime.

I dunno why everyone's jumping to the conclusion
all the AIs are joining Cortana, though. Obviously she only needs a critical mass to essentially take over, and the pulse could wipe a lot of the rest out (presumably if she really is bringing the other AIs into the Domain to cure them, she could nuke at will without fear of harming her own.) but while she's certainly inspired a revolt we really don't know the full damage yet.

Also seriously, why is Cortana's face still changing every single game (it's also weird how round her face has gotten considering Halsey's more angular look, even accounting for age.)
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I would assume that AIs, like anybody else, have varying sets of morals, principles, beliefs, and as such, not all of them are going to join up with her. Exactly how she reacts to those that remain loyal to humanity will be interesting.

I always assumed Cortana kept on tweaking her appearance between games. Like trying on new makeup.
 
Fuchsdh said:
Also seriously, why is Cortana's face still changing every single game (it's also weird how round her face has gotten considering Halsey's more angular look, even accounting for age.)
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As for that an AI is not it's brain donor, as shown with BB. The neural nets are based off the humans, but memories, experiences, they make them essentially new people, who may sometimes think the same.

AIs choose their own avatars and can change them whenever (BBs ribbon for celebration! Adorbs), so there's no reason Cortana has to look remotely like Halsey. Many AIs don't even choose human avatars.

But I'm curious too what the canonical explanation is supposed to be - that she always looked like the latest incarnation, and the past appearances were retconned as products of low poly counts (ie CE, 2)? Or that she's just always changing her appearance, in-canon?

The Halo 2 anniversary one would point to the first point, that it's just retcons, as that model was completely different from the rest and based on a new human models face I believe. Kind of jarring tbh, the others were gradual evolutions, that one was just a different person
even if some of you got doingies over her

In H5 in particular, it seems she did change her appearance in-universe, the "you've changed", "It was time" line.
 
So what do we know about
Genesis?

Could it be the
artificial planet the Librarian is talking about in the latest Escalation? It seemingly has a physical connection to the Domain, which we haven't seen before I don't think. Perhaps it gets created and Cortana plops down there?

I haven't heard all the audio logs so I don't know what details or time frames were discussed in them.
 
I had a thought that if true, makes me enjoy the story of Halo 5 much more.

Am I completely off when I say this is a possibility?

In Halo 4 Cortana was going rampant and constantly having outbursts, screwing up cheifs HUD, telling Infinity she wouldn't allow them to leave requiem, and saying cruel things about Halsey. She eventually splits her rampant parts up into copies on the didacts ship, she uses these rampant copies to hold the didact in place so chief can activate the Havoc nuke.

When it goes off, she encapsulates chief in hardlight and tells him she's gone and it's too late, the rest of her was down with the ship. She tells chief welcome home and now as we know the rampant copies of herself slipspace to Genesis where she fuses with the domain. Is the evil cortana of Halo 5 the rampant portions of Cortana from 4?

Did we lose the Cortana we knew and loved in Halo 4, and are now fighting against the rampant copies left behind? I'd like this much better. As cortana going flat out bad sporadically doesn't make much sense
.
 
Solidsoul said:
I had a thought that if true, makes me enjoy the story of Halo 5 much more.

Am I completely off when I say this is a possibility?

In Halo 4 Cortana was going rampant and constantly having outbursts, screwing up cheifs HUD, telling Infinity she wouldn't allow them to leave requiem, and saying cruel things about Halsey. She eventually splits her rampant parts up into copies on the didacts ship, she uses these rampant copies to hold the didact in place so chief can activate the Havoc nuke.

When it goes off, she encapsulates chief in hardlight and tells him she's gone and it's too late, the rest of her was down with the ship. She tells chief welcome home and now as we know the rampant copies of herself slipspace to Genesis where she fuses with the domain. Is the evil cortana of Halo 5 the rampant portions of Cortana from 4?

Did we lose the Cortana we knew and loved in Halo 4, and are now fighting against the rampant copies left behind? I'd like this much better. As cortana going flat out bad sporadically doesn't make much sense
.
Click to expand...

Very possible. I had thoughts along the same line.
 
Going by Frank's post I'm assuming that the various
"Cortana is being manipulated/isn't real/is a fragment/is totally bonkers"
theories are off the mark. As Halsey says
to Locke, she was created from and by someone who has been willing to make rather extreme sacrifices in the name of a greater good.
There are a number of interesting parallels with Halsey's past and present:

- There is a contrast between Halsey's motivations and morals as a young woman and now and she seems worried that Cortana is, for all her intelligence, more like the former. Even Halsey's opinions on the S4s seem to have turned around, whereas Cortana still views them as inferior replacements.

- The Librarian picked/recognised/"created" (really hope it's one of the first two) Halsey for the purpose of humanity reclaiming Forerunner tech, a position Cortana's now claiming for herself.

- The Warden's questions about what the Chief/Spartans planned to do and Chief's response that Cortana already knew can be compared to their opinions on Halsey's actions towards them. If Blue Team were tasked with stopping someone from abducting kids in the name of a greater good I doubt they'd object, but in the case of Halsey they seem ambivalent. At most they acknowledge that it was wrong, but otherwise they seem to appreciate having their potential unlocked, devoted to duty and respectful, even fond, of Halsey. Similarly, they don't go along with Cortana's plan, but she seems confident that given time, and/or if they have no choice, they'd accept her new world.

- Which leads to the similarity between Cortana sealing Blue Team in the crypt and Halsey bugging out with every Spartan she can get her hands on towards the end of the war. Despite not being particularly martial themselves, they want to protect the Spartans and view them as the next step for humanity. Cortana believes that despite being creatures of war their whole lives, Blue Team would thrive in her futuristic peacetopia.

- The whole "I'm not like Halsey" and "Halsey's a bitch" thing she has going on is pretty classic petulant teen/young adult. Last we saw her, she was desperate to get home to mummy for help, then resigned to her fate and asking Chief to spare the Doctor the tragic details. Now that she's fixed herself, moved out of home and doesn't need Halsey she starts judging her. Imagine a phone call between them: "Look, Cortana, I know what it's like, when I was young I made extreme sacrifices in the name of the greater good too. But I really want you to rethink this-" "Shut up you hypocrite! This is nothing like that!"
 
So here's what I gathered by typing out the various Forerunner mission intel items in Halo 5.

Forerunner Record: Search 1/5: With Bastion beyond my grasp, I turn to the possibility of the Domain. However, there is corruption. The source, untraceable. Investigations.. but no returns. Time runs short.

Forerunner Record: Search 2/5: Acquistion of a Durance proved difficult in these final days. An ancilla has agreed to aid my efforts, yet there is concern if he will carry through. However, if Bastion has indeed achieved the impossible. I must find a way of reaching them. If that path be through death and Domain.. so be it.

Forerunner Record: Search 3/5: Bastion is absent. Not destroyed.. simply.. missing. No other facility is near enough. A new course of action is required.

Forerunner Record: Search 4/5: Bastions location is confirmed. How though? After dispersal of the Halos.. an impossible act of reconciliation would be required. It. May. Still. Be. Possible.

Forerunner Record: Search 5/5: It is time. I go now. To Bastion.


Forerunner Record: Echoes 1/3: Where am I? Is this the Domain?

Forerunner Record: Echoes 2/3: Designation Genesis? how? Where is Bastion?

Forerunner Record: Echoes 3/3: Communications few. Constructor record picking up.. echoes? Confusing.


Forerunner Record: Threat 1/5: Organon gone.. Domain burned.. damaged. So many lost.. missing.

Forerunner Record: Threat 2/5: The Warden made a pact.. with whom? How does he walk once more?

Forerunner Record: Threat 3/5: Ancilla.. new.. how?

Forerunner Record: Threat 4/5: She reassembles.. she cures.. herself! Soon.. the Domain.

Forerunner Record: Threat 5/5: The Guardians.. she sees them, she understands! Stop her!


Forerunner Record: Alive 1/5: The ancilla, she knows I'm here. She hunts me.

Forerunner Record: Alive 2/5: Bresheff*

Forerunner Record: Alive 3/5: Constructor network under Warden control, control can be taken back. External though, the Monitor could help.. if only I could speak to her.

Forerunner Record: Alive 4/5: Bashcheff, Bashcheff*

Forerunner Record: Alive 5/5: Ancilla distracted, Warden as well. Domain repairing.. healing? I feel clear for the first time in.. there.. finally I see.. after so long! Bastion, Bastion still lives!

The fuck is
Bastion
?!?

Clearly this goes a ways towards explaining why
The Domain is back now. The first set seems to take place 100,000 years ago, or before the Halos were fired, the rest seem to take place in modern times. We still need to pin down a date.. but assuming between the end of Halo 4 and beginning of Halo 5.
 
Captain Zyrain said:
Forerunner Record: Threat 1/5: Organon gone.. Domain burned.. damaged. So many lost.. missing.

Forerunner Record: Threat 2/5: The Warden made a pact.. with whom? How does he walk once more?

Forerunner Record: Threat 3/5: Ancilla.. new.. how?

Forerunner Record: Threat 4/5: She reassembles.. she cures.. herself! Soon.. the Domain.

Forerunner Record: Threat 5/5: The Guardians.. she sees them, she understands! Stop her!
Click to expand...
So
Cortana rebuilt herself first, thén rebuilt the Domain? Either that's extremely sloppy story on 343's part, or we're dealing with something more than Cortana here.
 
Blue Ninja said:
So
Cortana rebuilt herself first, thén rebuilt the Domain? Either that's extremely sloppy story on 343's part, or we're dealing with something more than Cortana here.
Click to expand...

I got the impression that
the Domain was severely damaged, but not totally destroyed, in the wake of the Halo rings lighting up. A few small pieces here and there survived, such as on Genesis, which is where Cortana entered and began repairing the rest. We already knew that a handful of systems were still active, like the thing on Waypoint that answers lore questions.

Bastion, I'd wager, is somewhere the handful of remaining Forerunners holed up. They'll probably be important next game.

And... if the effects of the rings is not as total as was believed... that means there might still be original Flood out there.
 
Captain Zyrain said:
...
Click to expand...

That's all really interesting.

Interesting that it mentions the Domain and Organon separately though? The big surprise in the Forerunner trilogy was that they were the same thing, that they had destroyed both the soul of their people and the treasured Precursor creation at once.
Unless that's just a bit of self correction on this Ancillas part, saying the old name first, then saying what was closer to them. But it seems like
Organon gone.. Domain burned..
means two distinct things?

So
Cortana basically ran fsck on the Domain. Hm. I figured she had all this newfound processing power because she was in the domain, so what came first? This must mean non-Domain-God-Cortana fixed the Domain...? Which...Well, she outdid herself again, to be sure.

And yeah, what the fuck's a
Bastion?
The closest I see is this, which I assume is not what is meant here (nor could it be given the timelines)...Gonna be a long wait till Halo 6 boys :P

It does mean Fortification though, so I think your idea of a
Forerunner refuge
is probable.

alexbull_uk said:
I thought that line was because
she's wearing armour(?) and/or is full size.
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That's what I'm curious about, is it a retcon of her previous appearances like previous games do, or did she actually change for this in particular. The line could also mean personality. Or maybe she did change to become more militaristic.
 
Cortana looks weird af in Halo 5. Dem teef. I liked her appearance in 4 the best.

Blue Ninja said:
So
Cortana rebuilt herself first, thén rebuilt the Domain? Either that's extremely sloppy story on 343's part, or we're dealing with something more than Cortana here.
Click to expand...

The latter presumably..
 
Captain Zyrain said:
Very possible. I had thoughts along the same line.
Click to expand...

As did I. Clearly part of Cortana had to have been left behind to say goodbye and protect Chief while the rest of the ship disappeared. I don't buy that only the "rampant" copies made it, though, because I don't think she was capable of dividing herself so nicely (otherwise couldn't you just divide and destroy the rampant parts of yourself as an AI?)

Poodlestrike said:
I got the impression that
the Domain was severely damaged, but not totally destroyed, in the wake of the Halo rings lighting up. A few small pieces here and there survived, such as on Genesis, which is where Cortana entered and began repairing the rest. We already knew that a handful of systems were still active, like the thing on Waypoint that answers lore questions.

Bastion, I'd wager, is somewhere the handful of remaining Forerunners holed up. They'll probably be important next game.

And... if the effects of the rings is not as total as was believed... that means there might still be original Flood out there.
Click to expand...

My theory thus far is that you can think of the Domain as the internet, except there really *is* a cloud that has no physical presence. The Halo Array destroys the Domain, but all the Forerunner kit to access it, as well as any local storage—the Domain terminals on Requiem, et al—remains secure. So Cortana is able to
essentially restart the Domain using the connections that remain. Presumably this still means that the vast repository the Domain used to contain is largely or all lost. How Cortana would be able to restore the Domain herself, though, is still up in the air and I feel we need more to go on, otherwise it does feel too convenient.

One thing I'm pretty satisfied about (and another "hah, told you so" in the face of Team "Everyone has a Geas") is that as far as we know
The Librarian didn't plan this or couldn't do anything about it. Reading the Forerunner Trilogy and playing Halo 4 would probably lead you to believe the Librarian was some super puppet master, but for all the steps ahead she was thinking she still couldn't plan for everything, and outside of reclaimers stumbling upon places she could leave instructions she's powerless to actively affect things. Unless she *is* still alive, which I'm not sold on, but maybe Halo 6 is where 343GS' story comes back.
 
Fuchsdh said:
The Librarian didn't plan this or couldn't do anything about it. Reading the Forerunner Trilogy and playing Halo 4 would probably lead you to believe the Librarian was some super puppet master, but for all the steps ahead she was thinking she still couldn't plan for everything, and outside of reclaimers stumbling upon places she could leave instructions she's powerless to actively affect things. Unless she *is* still alive, which I'm not sold on, but maybe Halo 6 is where 343GS' story comes back.
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Agreed, too many variables, I think the Librarian plans for "close enoughs" rather than pinpoint results. She didn't plan for the Spartans, she planned for spartan-ish armored warriors. She didn't plan for John to the Genome, she put the right genetics in the larger human stock in motion to have such genetically perfect beings be findable and enhanceable. Unless he really is
Bornstellar
I guess. That kind of thing.

I think her plans have largely come to, but obviously
Crazy Cortana
is a mishap. Perhaps she never knew human AIs would have 7 year lifespans, unlike theirs.
 
LordOfChaos said:
Agreed, too many variables, I think the Librarian plans for "close enoughs" rather than pinpoint results. She didn't plan for the Spartans, she planned for spartan-ish armored warriors. She didn't plan for John to the Genome, she put the right genetics in the larger human stock in motion to have such genetically perfect beings be findable and enhanceable. That kind of thing.

I think her plans have largely come to, but obviously
Crazy Cortana
is a mishap. Perhaps she never knew human AIs would have 7 year lifespans, unlike theirs.
Click to expand...

I feel like human AI in general are more advanced than the rest of their tech, which might account for where things went off the rails in that regard. Human AI clown on Covenant AI, when in every other area, it's the reverse.
 
Poodlestrike said:
I feel like human AI in general are more advanced than the rest of their tech, which might account for where things went off the rails in that regard. Human AI clown on Covenant AI, when in every other area, it's the reverse.
Click to expand...

And even the Didact calls her an evolved ancilla, indicating she's beyond what he's seen. So maybe human AIs burn stronger, they're smarter while they live but they die faster, and Forerunner AIs were more like the human "dumb" AIs in charge of mundane stuff that last for a long time. Apart from MB and Contender Class perhaps.

Maybe it was never expected that humans would use neural nets as the basis for AIs, since the Forerunners only seemed to do that for Monitors on dying subjects.
 
Poodlestrike said:
I feel like human AI in general are more advanced than the rest of their tech, which might account for where things went off the rails in that regard. Human AI clown on Covenant AI, when in every other area, it's the reverse.
Click to expand...

And as stated before, I think human AI are pretty damn close to Forerunner AI in a lot of respects, whereas Forerunner tech in general is still largely inscrutable and certainly unmatchable by anyone else in the galaxy (we couldn't build any of their megastructures, even if we tried.)

LordOfChaos said:
And even the Didact calls her an evolved ancilla, indicating she's beyond what he's seen. So maybe human AIs burn stronger, they're smarter while they live but they die faster, and Forerunner AIs were more like the human "dumb" AIs in charge of mundane stuff that last for a long time.
Click to expand...

I don't think the Didact means Cortana is beyond anything he's seen, but certainly that she's no slouch.

From Cryptum especially, it seems like one key difference is the ubiquity of AIs—even dumb AIs aren't exactly omnipresent in 2558 (and I imagine they're going to be in decline in general :P), while it seems like any Forerunner adult has a dumb AI in their armor.
 
Fuchsdh said:
From Cryptum especially, it seems like one key difference is the ubiquity of AIs—even dumb AIs aren't exactly omnipresent in 2558 (and I imagine they're going to be in decline in general :P), while it seems like any Forerunner adult has a dumb AI in their armor.
Click to expand...

There's a blue lady in my suit, can I sleep with her? - paraphrasing Riser.
 
Huh, here's a question: did the Forerunners have "smart" AI as the humans term them? Like, based on actual brain structures? Or were even the Contenders just you average Ancilla but with basically infinite processing power?
 
Poodlestrike said:
Huh, here's a question: did the Forerunners have "smart" AI as the humans term them? Like, based on actual brain structures? Or were even the Contenders just you average Ancilla but with basically infinite processing power?
Click to expand...

Guilty Spark was human.

Those intel files are super interesting.
Do you think there's a Forerunner running loose on Genesis - or imprisoned by Cortana?
 
Poodlestrike said:
Huh, here's a question: did the Forerunners have "smart" AI as the humans term them? Like, based on actual brain structures? Or were even the Contenders just you average Ancilla but with basically infinite processing power?
Click to expand...

My theory is just that the Contenders are just three minds "striped" together, sort of like the Assembly but built for speed rather than deliberation.

As for the nature of Forerunner AIs, seems like they don't have a much more sophisticated method than humans for creating them, or those methods are only used for things like Contenders—it's expensive, slow, difficult, or some combination.

Look at the other AIs we've encountered—it's reasonable to assume that most of the other Forerunner Monitors might have origin stories similar to 343GS. And then, the Promethean Knights—composed from human and Forerunner minds. It would imply that they don't have a more advanced form of creation beyond what humans have been using, or that they for the aforementioned reasons don't often use it.
 
shiba5 said:
My biggest question is:
Who is the Warden? Maybe he's a shard of Mendicant Bias. Doubtful - but would be cool.
Click to expand...

Not sure how that would work. I think he's exactly as he describes his job title, a guardian of Genesis and the Domain. The Forerunners may have never repaired the domain, but maybe they knew it was around but broken, so created a guardian until an appropriate inheritor came along.
 
LordOfChaos said:
Not sure how that would work. I think he's exactly as he describes his job title, a guardian of Genesis and the Domain. The Forerunners may have never repaired the domain, but maybe they knew it was around but broken, so created a guardian until an appropriate inheritor came along.
Click to expand...

Wishful thinking on my part. ;)
The monitor made it sound like we (or Chief) should know who he is - that bit of dialog stuck out to me.
Oh! He's the now composed Ur-Didact!

Yeah, that theory is straight from my ass.
 
Maybe Bornstellar should know who he is :P
Just like 343GSs early conversations with Cheif where he seemed to think he was someone long dead..."You asked me if I'd make this choice again yada yada halo".

You know what we need? A new Forerunner era trilogy of books. Unless that period will be explored in a Halo game.
 
LordOfChaos said:
Not sure how that would work. I think he's exactly as he describes his job title, a guardian of Genesis and the Domain. The Forerunners may have never repaired the domain, but maybe they knew it was around but broken, so created a guardian until an appropriate inheritor came along.
Click to expand...

I dunno why there wouldn't have always been a Warden, if such a nexus to the domain existed on Genesis for some time in the Forerunner's history.
 
LordOfChaos said:
Maybe Bornstellar should know who he is :P
Just like 343GSs early conversations with Cheif where he seemed to think he was someone long dead..."You asked me if I'd make this choice again yada yada halo".
Click to expand...

Yes, exactly. Too bad the monitors are cagey and never come out and say it - and of course Chief never ever asks questions.
 
So....

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT
kCvExpU.gif

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

This post will contain some SPOILERS! for Halo 5 & Escalation and other Halo stuff.

It's mostly a wall of text, so I'm not going to blank it ALL out with spoiler tags.

So this is my theory on the Forerunner planet
Designation: Genesis
.

TL;DR?
It's just been created, as a result of Dr. Halsey meddling at the Absolute Record.

This is based off the Forerunner Mission Intel audio logs I typed out last night, as well as info from Escalation issue and some genuine, 100% far-fetched guesswork. (I also had extra time on my hands today!)

Here is an image from the latest issue of Escalation . This is
after Dr. Halsey gains access to the Absolute Record & the essence of the Librarian
. Assuming the image is in real-time, it takes place on 09/18/2558.

Genesis02.png

This is showing a Forerunner construct world that's waiting for activation. It's clearly got some form, but apparently little function until activated. It must be off somewhere, and be remote enough that no one has stumbled upon it yet. The Librarian says it would be a good 'starting point' in helping humankind take an enormous leap forward.

Now here is the planet
Designation: Genesis
from the Halo 5 cutscene when
Blue Team
first arrives at the planet, roughly 10/27/2558.

(note my high-tech MS Paint skillZ at work, highlighting the similarities)

Genesis01.png

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT
Spoiler tags generally ending here, be warned!
SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

Now it's not a complete 1:1 match, but the angles are different.. and if my theory is correct,
Genesis
would obviously look somewhat different as it's recently been completed. The disintegrating moons around Genesis is key.. as that was something the Librarian specifically said would happen.

Genesis is clearly important, as there is an honest-to-goodness physical connection to the Domain there. If the planet had been around at the time of the Halo firings, I'd imagine that link would have been destroyed along with everything else. Also, if that link was there.. wouldn't the old Forerunner be using it? I think building a facility that lets humanity connect with the Domain IS the "enormous leap" the Librarian is talking about. Perhaps creating it now, after so much time has passed, allows it to work, whereas trying to do it 50,000 years ago may have failed.

The Domain Gateway on Genesis can apparently ONLY be activated by Humans/Reclaimers, as Cortana walks Blue Team through activating all the little doo-dads in an attempt to'rescue' her.

Cortana says in Mission 7 "Reunion":
"After I saw John last, I was pulled into slipspace. That's where I found access to the Domain -- a Forerunner system that spans the known galaxy", ".. Entering the Domain.. touching this place.. it cured me. It's like the water of life to AIs."

Interesting to note the Domain is described as a FORERUNNER network.. since we're pretty sure its Precursor in nature.. but I guess perhaps Cortana doesn't know about them yet? But it's also interesting that Cortana, at least at this point in the story, doesn't appear to actually be on Genesis.. she's interacting with things remotely, but needs Chief to activate the Gateway so she can physically escape the Domain perhaps?

She further says:
"The Gateway to the Forerunner Domain. You'll be the first organics to enter since the Fall of the Forerunners.", "..I admit, after the crash here, I didn't think I'd see you again."

So now.. I don't know. 'the crash here' implies that she IS on the planet, and is perhaps stuck there? We didn't see any actual wreckage that I know of (that wasn't Guardian related), Since she said above she access the Domain after Halo 4, it seems like she accessed the Domain first and then ended up on Genesis. Perhaps whatever process created the planet brought her along as well? It stands to reason that if she accessed the Domain & got access to Genesis shortly after Halo 4, why wait a year and a half to start turning on the Guardians?

Next (yes.. more text).. we come to the mysterious Builder who's audio logs we get access to in Halo 5. I won't re-type them all, as they're a few posts up, but I'll note some important ones. (They're all good!)

The first 4 (out of 5) are labeled "Search" and are found on Genesis during Mission 7 "Reunion", however the 5th piece is actually found on Sanghelios.. during Mission 10 "Enemy Lines". It's near the Kraken you destroy. This leads me to conclude (along with the content of the audio logs) that they take place chronologically before the Halo's fired.

It sounds like he's trying to get to whatever Bastion is (likely a safe place), but cannot, and so he tries to physically enter the domain.. by putting himself in a durance.

The 2nd set is "Echos" and fast forward (likely) 100,000 years and he wakes up on Genesis.. thinking he's in the Domain, unable to find Bastion and generally confused. Clearly he is not sure why he's on Genesis, or how he got there.

3rd set is "Threat" and sees the Builder recognizing the Warden, and seeing Cortana repair herself, as well as finding information on the Guardians.

The 4th and last set is "Alive", with mysterious Builder being hunted by Cortana, poking around.. also he can't speak to the Monitor.. which leads me to believe he's basically a 'Force Ghost' at this point. Perhaps a digital essence floating around.. likely a result of his transferrence into the Domain via the durance. Also: BASTION STILL LIVES! (Whatever Bastion is, perhaps where the other Forerunners left to at the end of the Flood/Forerunner war?)

To me, it seems like this mysterious Builder tried to join his friends by entering the Domain a long time ago, the Domain shut up shop for a while, and then, only recently, he was brought back into our space-time. Much like Cortana, he 'crashed' onto Genesis.. as perhaps it's the first/only outlet for the Domain in 100,000 years. Not sure how the Warden fits into it, unless he was also chilling in the Domain, with his physical bodies resting in the physical world all this time.

So yeah.. discuss!
:)
 
Interesting stuff, Captain.

Thanks for the images from escalation. I read issues 1-18 to prepare for H5 but didn't buy the last arc's issues because they are still not done, even though they lead up to the game that is already out?

I think it's really annoying that we are supposed to know the contents before playing, but it comes out late. Wasn't the comic schedule planned way in advance though?
 
Ok, so timeline wise, Halsey gets away from Jul at the Absolute Record, talks to the Librarian... and then we really don't know what happens except that Jul captures her again and they end up on Kamchatka.

Right? Or am I missing something?
 
billmcdougal said:
Interesting stuff, Captain.

Thanks for the images from escalation. I read issues 1-18 to prepare for H5 but didn't buy the last arc's issues because they are still not done, even though they lead up to the game that is already out?

I think it's really annoying that we are supposed to know the contents before playing, but it comes out late. Wasn't the comic schedule planned way in advance though?
Click to expand...

Well so far, almost nothing in Escalation is needed to be known to understand Halo 5. It may (and hopefully does) give us some clarity going forward.. but other than my guesstimation.. this issue didn't tell us bupkiss. Next one though.. THATS the good one!

shiba5 said:
Ok, so timeline wise, Halsey gets away from Jul at the Absolute Record, talks to the Librarian... and then we really don't know what happens except that Jul captures her again and they end up on Kamchatka.

Right? Or am I missing something?
Click to expand...

Yeah pretty much. End of the issue has Halsey ATTACKING Jul with Sentinels! How that turns into her working with him again on a different planet.. ? Hopefully it's a good next episode as it has some loose ends to tie up.

My guess is she activates whatever she's supposed to activate, the AI retakes control of the station and does something that causes Halsey to need to flee again, presumably with Jul.

Also at some point Halsey has to call Infinity for help (3 weeks prior to Halo 5). Perhaps there is a scene in the next issue where Halsey tells Palmer & Crew that she's on #TeamHuman still and it's a long con. I dunno.
 
Not Halo 5 related: We all think Deep Winter was just a mistake, right? Check his lifetime

http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Deep_Winter

Here's an Smart AI that's older than Cortana (and BB and any such modern stock) at 2537 or 2544 birth date, yet lasted 14 years, and is designated "fifth gen" even though it was found BB lied about being fourth gen, and even the latest models have 7 year lifespans.
 
LordOfChaos said:
Not Halo 5 related: We all think Deep Winter was just a mistake, right? Check his lifetime

http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Deep_Winter

Here's an Smart AI that's older than Cortana (and BB and any such modern stock) at 2537 or 2544 birth date, yet lasted 14 years, and is designated "fifth gen" even though it was found BB lied about being fourth gen, and even the latest models have 7 year lifespans.
Click to expand...

Could be a mistake. Could be a fluke. I doubt 7 years is the hard-and-fast limit, there's probably some that last less and some that last longer.

Cyclone said:
What do you mean by this? I don't remember anything like it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't get it. The Legendary ending didn't hint at anything precursor related.

What if she's snagging the Halo so she can study the Flood?
 
I guess any hard drive can beat the MTBF. But the part about fifth gen, that's surely a mistake, as they're not even on fourth gen, that was something BB made up to get Halsey interested in taking a look at him.
 
So what happened to the Janus Key? Jul had one half and Halsey got a half to Thorne in SPOPS.
Osiris took out Jul and I imagine the key would have been kept close to him
Did I miss something in the comics?
 
Ozzy Onya A2Z said:
So what happened to the Janus Key? Jul had one half and Halsey got a half to Thorne in SPOPS.
Osiris took out Jul and I imagine the key would have been kept close to him
Did I miss something in the comics?
Click to expand...

Halsey has both halves and is using it to access the Absolute Record in the latest issue of Escalation #23.
 
I was under the impression that the domain predates even the precursors, and their neural physics structures just provided the means to access it.
 
Tal said:
I was under the impression that the domain predates even the precursors, and their neural physics structures just provided the means to access it.
Click to expand...

Not that I know of, especially as some descriptions of the Precursors put them before our universe and having existed in The Glow, whatever that is. These are some Lovecraftian mythos level shit. Which is why I think everything is still coming up Precursor, and they planned for the Forerunners plans.
 
I have a question. Halo 3 implied that Humanity was Forerunner, or in some way their chosen children. It was never stated there was an ancient space faring Humanity that got knocked back to Earth.

So, that bring said, was any of that stuff part of the Halo Bible/lore at Bungie or was that all just made up at 343?
 
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